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An innovative financial literacy program has won a group of UWA students a Highly Commended Award at the 2014 MoneySmart Week Awards.

Finance for Life , developed by student group Enactus UWA , was launched in 2005 and has since introduced more than 15,000 Australian students to key financial concepts.

Originally established to assist students from low socio-economic areas of Western Australia, the program incorporates in-class exercises and an interactive reality simulation. Topics include goal setting, ethical decision making, saving and investing.

In 2014, the program gained accreditation from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and Finance for Life is now available for teachers to access and run at any time.

Currently, Enactus UWA is working with BHP Billiton to create an additional module for the program, focusing on the fundamentals of everyday budgeting. Senior staff from BHP Billiton will facilitate the module, and will travel to schools in rural areas to broaden the program's reach.

The MoneySmart Week Judging Panel acknowledged the way in which Finance for Life empowers individuals to create sustainable financial futures.

"Finance for Life has provided a platform for over 5000 young Australians annually to learn key life financial skills that can only have a positive impact on their own futures," the panel said.

"The judges are excited for the program's future particularly in targeting schools in rural areas with the everyday budgeting module developed this year in conjunction with BHP Billiton and encourage them to continue their work within the space."

Enactus UWA members Meng Dunmow and Tom Abraham travelled to Sydney to collect the team's award, where they were impressed by the other award winners across all categories.

"The programs across different industries and communities proved to be very inspiring and it was an eye-opening experience to see how much effort is put into improving the financial literacy of Australians across the country," they said.

"At UWA, Finance for Life (FFL) has been running for close to nine years, and the fact that it is still winning awards in 2014 is a testament to the amount of effort put in by the Enactus UWA team. We are also proud of the amount of students who have participated and learnt from the program, with more than 5000 students this year-from Bunbury to Brisbane-using FFL.

"The team at Enactus would also like to acknowledge and thank Financial Literacy Australia, ASIC, The University of Western Australia and the UWA Business School, as well as all our ongoing partners who are always doing great work to support us."

Media references

Karen Della Torre (UWA Business School)                                    (+61 8) 6488 8538
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)                                            (+61 8) 6488 1346