The Jan Pentland Memorial Award is an annual honour, recognising a member of FCVic who has worked in service to the wider community. The award is named after one of our esteemed Life Members.
Jan worked tirelessly for many years to promote the cause of financial counselling in Victoria and throughout Australia. She was Chair of the national peak, AFCCRA (now Financial Counselling Australia, FCA). Her advocacy led to AFFCRA being funded for the first time in 2009.
Jan passed away in 2009, but she continues to be an inspiration to our sector.
Eligibility
The award is for a current or former* Accredited member of FCVic who has demonstrated excellence in financial counselling service to the wider community**.
*It would be expected that if awarded to a former member, that individual would have held Accredited Membership within the past two years.
**For the purposes of this award, ‘community’ is defined as either geographic community/local area, broader geographic community/Victoria/Australia/Internationally or community of identity or purpose regardless of location. For example indigenous community, women, youth, people affected by family violence, asylum seekers etc.
Criteria and selection
Nominations are assessed by an independent Awards Selection Panel appointed by the FCVic Board. Each nomination is considered on its merits against the award criteria below. The weighting assigned to each criterion indicates its relative importance in the overall assessment. The Panel will consider the quality of the evidence provided, the significance of the nominee's contribution, and the demonstrated impact of their achievements.
| Criterion |
Weight |
| Excellence in financial counselling practice |
30% |
| Contribution to the wider community |
30% |
| Professional integrity and values |
20% |
| Positive influence and impact |
20% |
When preparing your nomination, focus on providing specific examples that demonstrate the nominee's achievements and the impact of their contribution. Strong nominations describe what the nominee did, why it was significant, and the difference it made, rather than relying on general praise or personal opinion.
Nominations are assessed on the information provided. The Panel is not required to seek additional information or clarification.
The Panel, at their discretion and subject to eligibility, may reallocate nominations to a different award category where they determine the nominee better fits another category. The Panel can choose not to confer an award if they deem that no nominees meet the criteria.
The Panel will provide recommendations for the awards on a confidential basis to the FCVic Board. The awards recommended by the Panel will be considered by the Board for ratification. If a recommendation is not ratified the award will not be conferred. The Board’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Presentation
The award is to be presented at the FCVic Gala Awards Dinner, 8 October 2026.
The award recipients are encouraged to be present at the presentation, but a proxy can accept the award on the recipient's behalf. The FCVic office will liaise with the nominator to arrange this beforehand.
The closing date for nominations is 11:59PM on Sunday, 30 August 2026
FCVic thanks Jan's partner, David Morawetz, for his generous support of this award.
Click here to read the FCVic Awards policy.