Summary:
$10.30 Social Return on Investment (SROI) in FY24 in New Zealand; $160m social value; $2,497 social value per participant.
Where it shows up: 67% Health, 32% Income, consumption & wealth.
Trending up: SROI rose from $7.00 (FY22) → $8.40 (FY23) → $10.30 (FY24); 64,124 people engaged (+17% YoY).
How we do it: community (face-to-face) visits → phone support → self-service portal; referrals to financial mentors; no fees or excessive interest; breathing space & hardship; debt relief; credit file updates.
Community team impact: Community services are our highest-NPS channel and build trusted relationships.
This shows that our approach works for customers, and we’ll be studying the Australian customer experience more.
ImpactLab: What the results say, and why the New Zealand experience matters
ImpactLab is a New Zealand-based Independent research firm which estimates lifetime social value and SROI using New Zealand datasets, academic evidence, and our programme data, mapped to the New Zealand Treasury’s Living Standards Framework. For FY24 in New Zealand, that’s $160,113,092 social value and $1:$10.30 SROI.
Where value is created: Health (67%) and Income, Consumption and Wealth (32%). These areas capture changes like improved mental health, reduced risky behaviour/addiction, reduced emergency-benefit use, and reduced debt.
The New Zealand experience is illustrative of the benefits our approach delivers to Australian customers, and we’ll be looking to partner with an organisation who can provide Australian-specific insights soon.
Social return is growing year-on-year
Across consecutive assessments, our New Zealand SROI has lifted from $1:$7.00 (FY22) to $1:$8.40 (FY23) to $1:$10.30 (FY24). In FY24 alone, SROI increased 22% as we helped more people (+17%) and increased social value per person (+18%), driven by higher average debt levels and more opportunity in mental health and addiction outcomes.
At a glance: 64,124 engaged, $2,497 social value/participant.
How we create social returns: Community services (face-to-face)
Our vision is simple: A fairer financial world where everyone can thrive. We know the biggest gains happen when we show up in person.
Our community services team are a core part of our customer journey, meeting people face to face to remove barriers, build trust, and co-design plans that work in real life. That’s where much of the measured health and income impact is created.
Why we go in person
Trust beats templated fixes: A respectful doorstep conversation opens the door to honest discussion about what’s really going on – work hours, childcare, health, housing, transport.
Access and equity: Face-to-face support helps people who don’t answer unknown numbers, have limited data, language barriers, and low digital confidence.
Right support, first time: Seeing the context (not just the balance) lets us match the plan and wrap-around services to the person, not the other way around.
What a typical visit looks like:
Introductions and consent: Who we are, why we’re here, and how we can help.
Listen and understand: Income/outgoings, family situation and context, immediate pressures (e.g., rent, food, power).
Co-design the plan: Simple, affordable, no fees or excessive interest, flexible to changing circumstances; no arbitrary maximum term.
Connect to support: Referrals to financial counsellors such as the National Debt Helpline and state and federal services.
Clear next steps: We provide plain-language follow-up and check back in when needed – for example, if payments start being missed.
What the community team brings
Understanding: Our team is highly trained for sensitive situations, some of our people have experienced problem debt themselves, so they understand the pressures.
Practical problem-solving: Removing barriers and choosing payment plans that won’t trip people up.
Continuity, not hand-offs: The same people follow up; customers can switch to phone or online support at any time.
Why this drives social returns
Face-to-face support consistently produces higher engagement, fewer crisis escalations, and earlier referrals to the right services. That shows up in ImpactLab’s outcomes as improved mental health, reduced risky behaviours, reduced reliance on emergency benefits, and reduced debt. These are the everyday changes that can help move a customer from surviving to thriving.
What this means in people’s lives
The outcomes ImpactLab counts include improved mental health, reduced risky behaviours/addiction, less reliance on emergency benefits, and reduced debt. That’s why most value shows up in Health and Income, Consumption, and Wealth.
FAQs
What is “social value” and “SROI”?
They’re independent estimates of lifetime benefits for participants and society, such as improved health and increased disposable income, relative to the cost of delivering the service.
Where does most value land?
In FY24 NZ, value was 67% Health and 32% Income, consumption & wealth.
What changed in FY24?
We helped more people (64,124 engaged; +17%) and increased social value per person (+18%), lifting SROI to $1:$10.30.
Is this measured independently?
Yes, by ImpactLab using its GoodMeasure system, mapped to the New Zealand Treasury Living Standards Framework.
Is there an Australian version?
We know the experiences of our New Zealand customers are illustrative of our Australian ones, and we’re working to study and measure our Australia outcomes more closely soon.
Read the full report
The full ImpactLab report can be found here.
