Our History

Where it all started: In the mid 1980's Newtown Citizen's Advice Bureau launched Newtown Budgeting Service as we were originally called. Initially the Service was staffed by volunteers and housed in the Newtown Community Centre.

Clients were supported with financial problems. A particular focus was those on benefits or with low incomes. NBS assisted people in resolving debts, accessing entitlements or extra help from the Ministry of Social Welfare and other agencies, and helped them to live within their budget.

During the 1990s, a pool of volunteers was built up, and volunteers often visited people in their homes, covering a wide area of Wellington. The volunteers included employed people, with many doing night visits to assist clients. Some reported situations that felt a bit scary when they arrived at a house during dark hours to see someone they had not met before.

While based in Newtown Community Centre, we shared a small office space with the Pacific Island Family and Budgeting Services, who strongly advocated for Pacifica peoples and challenged some cultural practices that drove people further into debt. We often referred clients to the Pacific Island Family and Budgeting Services and vice versa. “Advocacy” was added to our name to become the Newtown Budgeting and Advocacy Service (NBAS).

Over the years, advocating for clients has become a larger part of our focus.

Newtown Budgeting Service registered with the NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services, (Which later became FinCap) and all advisers were required to undergo training and pass an exam to become qualified as Financial Mentors, before they were able to assist clients.

At this time, NBAS was no longer part of the Newtown Citizens Advice Bureau and we became an incorporated society in 2008. We moved to the Salvation Army’s Hope Centre in Newtown.

In 2008 as an Incorporated Society NBAS registered as a charity with the Charities Services of the Department of Internal Affairs.

We were seeing approximately 250 clients per year in 2012.

While based in the Hope Centre, advisers saw clients upstairs in the office, where budgets and letters of support were written in front of them. Phone calls to creditors were also made with the client present. This was much quicker and involved clients in the process. It was an educational tool to show clients where their money was going and how they could make changes.

In late 2014, we relocated to Riddiford House in Newtown, and this is where we still are today. Our new office had more space and this allowed for more staff and the for the service to assist more clients.

By 2015, we saw 500 clients per year. Funding had become a significant issue due to the increased rent and the number of paid staff. The service’s future was seriously under threat in 2018. We were very relieved to secure enough funding to ensure the survival of our services, with the Ministry of Social Development becoming our main funder due to our help for families and the well-being of children.

We have worked with clients and built strong relationships with many community agencies, which in turn help to build wraparound support systems. This involves collaboration with several agencies and building stronger relationships with them. Community education was provided to clients from Addiction Services, Corrections, Red Cross Refugee Services, and staff in mental health services.

In 2024 NBAS provided over 1700 client sessions and we currently have over 320 active clients. The work has expanded and we now have 6 paid financial mentors (3.25 FTEs) well supported by 12 dedicated volunteers. The service is governed by our Governance Committee who meet monthly.

NBAS serves the Wellington South community. This is a diverse community with a range of ethnicities and cultures represented. NBAS's client base reflects this diversity with 35% (2024) of our clients either migrants or former refugees. To assist in our work with Arabic speaking refugees, in 2023 NBAS hired an Arabic speaking financial mentor.