News

Wesley Mission’s Gambling Counselling Services have recently achieved NSW Government accreditation in recognition of the high quality of service they provide for people with gambling problems.

Only eighteen services in NSW have achieved this accreditation, with more expected to follow suit by mid next year. 

The accreditation for Wesley Mission comes after two years of concentrated efforts from their gambling counsellors who worked hard to ensure their processes and procedures were well in line with industry standards. The $1.5 million accreditation program, developed by the Responsible Gambling Fund, is granted to services whose practices are of a high standard.

“The teams are very excited about this accreditation,” said Wesley Mission’s Counselling Services’ Operations Manager, Anne Lenehan Jones.

“It confirms that the counselling support we provide to clients is of a very good standard and is public recognition of the fantastic work our gambling counsellors do. 

“The accreditation also provides a clear process for ongoing continuous improvement which will result in future enhancements to the quality of service with ongoing benefits to our clients and community,” she said.

Wesley Mission’s Gambling Counselling Services operate in Surry Hills, Sutherland, Penrith and Fairfield, providing a free service for the local areas. The services offer an individually tailored counselling program to clients, which may include personal counselling, financial counselling, family support and legal services. In 2007-2008 Wesley Mission provided 2058 gambling counselling sessions to people in need.

The teams found undergoing the accreditation process very valuable in identifying areas of growth and strength for the service and opportunities for improvement.

Linda Barclay
Public Affairs Officer
Mobile: 0434 076 642