Each month, Department of Human Services Financial Information Service (FIS) Officer Justin Bott appears on the Sky News ‘Your Money, Your Call’ programme with host Sam Henderson.
Your Money, Your Call is a live panel discussion, where experts such as Justin discuss financial matters.
“Appearing on the show each month has been a real highlight of my career. I enjoy showing viewers that there is more to the FIS role than just explaining Centrelink entitlements to customers,” Justin said.
Justin has been working for the department for more than 20 years, after working as a Customer Service Advisor for the Department of Social Services.
“Over the years, I’ve worked in various different roles and places in the department to keep my career interesting. I applied for the FIS role as it was completely different from anything else I had worked on.
“Although I didn’t have very many technical skills to start off with, I always loved presenting to people, which is what got me the job.
“FIS presentations are a big part of what we do, and I’ve presented to over 6,000 people during my time as a FIS Officer.”
A typical day in the FIS role involves meeting with customers face-to-face, preparing for upcoming seminars, answering phone calls and call-backs, and working on projects with other FIS Officers.
But Justin says his favourite part of the job is helping people. “Helping people to understand their financial options and seeing them leave with less of a burden than they arrived with is really rewarding for me,” Justin said.
“I also love presenting. I get a real buzz from standing in front of a group of people and telling them about financial issues, options and implications.
“FIS is a great service that provides free, independent information that’s only there to help.”
When asked what his plans are for the future, Justin says he’s pretty happy with where he is at the moment and doesn’t plan on a career change any time soon.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunities the role has given me, in particular being on the Your Money, Your Call retirement panel.
“With young children at local schools, I’m satisfied with where I am. I want to keep serving people through the FIS role as long as I’m able to, except for one thing – Kochie, watch out!”
More information
Find out more about the department’s Financial Information Service and upcoming seminars.
