Case study: Content strategy and design for the Small Business Debt Helpline

How a website rewrite increased case volumes by 1,141% and unlocked millions in federal funding.
Client: Financial Counseling Australia (FCA)
Role: Content Strategist and Designer

Overview

The Small Business Debt Helpline offers free and confidential financial counseling to small business owners under financial stress. It was set up in March 2020 following catastrophic bushfires on Australia's east coast. However, the scope of the Helpline quickly expanded with the advent of COVID-19.

The Helpline was experiencing low engagement. It urgently needed to increase case numbers to demonstrate demand for the service and secure government funding.

I joined the project in January 2021 to restructure and repurpose the Helpline's website.

Challenge

The Helpline's website content was out-dated, unstructured and missing key information. The support on offer was unclear, placing the burden on small business owners to work out what to do next.

To increase case numbers, I needed to reposition the website as a credible, trustworthy and useful service for all small businesses in financial distress – not just those affected by bushfires. This required balancing empathetic and reassuring messaging with well-timed calls-to-action to drive calls to the Helpline.

FCA required a realistic, sustainable solution to be delivered in just 3 months.

Approach

To work within the project's constraints, I implemented a minimal viable product approach to prioritize content that addressed the key needs of small business owners.

Identify user needs. To better understand the needs of small business owners, I ran a workshop with Helpline staff to define personas and their 'top tasks'.

Understand the problem. I audited the website content to identify key, recurring content problems. 

Create a clear strategy. I developed an actionable content strategy that mapped the current state content to the Helpline's goals.

Design the content. I followed a thorough content design process to:

  • plan the content to address user needs
  • write and structure the content to make information approachable
  • balance self-serve information with calls-to-action
  • work with Helpline staff to ensure factual, legal and messaging accuracy
  • meet acceptance criteria to achieve sign-off.

I leaned on the experience of the Helpline staff to ensure the website reflected the support that small business owners would receive over the phone. To build trust, I used clear, consistent and repeated messaging across the site. 

Examples

Simplified website navigation makes it easier for users to find information.

Menu items: Home, About us, COVID 19, I can't pay, Government assistance, I need help, Beware, Resources
Before: 8 menu items
Menu items: Get help, Government grants, Disaster relief, About us.
After: 4 menu items

Shifting the messaging from 'what you need to do' to 'we can help you' builds trust and supports the Helpline's goal.

Preview of a child page titled 'My business loan'. The text reads: How to negotiate a repayment arrangement with your lender. 1. Contact your lender. Tell them you can't pay because of the bushfires. 2. Pay what you can. Talk to the lender to agree a repayment arrangement. 3 If the lender won't agree then lodge a dispute in the free Australian Financial Complaints Authority (if the lender is a member). 4. Call us for advice on 1800 413 828 if you need help. Call to action: Learn more.
Before: getting help was the last step of a complex process
Preview of a child page with the heading: loan repayments. Text: If you're struggling to keep up with repayments on your overdraft or business loan, you don't have to figure it out on your own. Call to action: Find out more.
After: simplified content prioritizes getting help as the first step

To reduce uncertainty about when to call and what to expect, I added reassurance under clear subheadings:

  • When to seek help
  • How we can help
  • Who you'll talk to
  • Get help today

Deliverables

  • Content strategy
  • Information architecture
  • 4 content types
  • 25 pages of web content
  • Editorial style guide

Results

The project was delivered within the 3-month timeframe. 

The Helpline has seen significant and consistent growth since the new content launched in 2021. By the end of 2021, case volumes were up 207% on the previous year. Over 5 years, annual case numbers have increased by 1,141%.

In 2022, FCA secured $4 million in federal government funding. Funding has been extended until 2027.

The Helpline is recognized as a vital national service that has helped thousands of small business owners under increasing financial pressure.

Bar chart titled 'Count of cases grouped by year (n = 18,533)' 2020: 500 2021: 1,536 2022: 2,067 2023: 3,091 2024: 5,134 2025: 6,205
Data from FCA shows the increased demand for the Helpline year-on-year (count of cases by year, n = 18,533).

Key learnings

Constraints don’t have to diminish the end result – they can force better decisions. This project reinforced the value of:

  • aligning content to a clear objective
  • taking a tailored, strategic approach to prioritize key user needs
  • deep collaboration with subject matter experts to translate expertise into accurate, actionable guidance.

References

Financial Counseling Australia. (2026, February 11). Financial Counseling Australia welcomes extended funding for the Small Business Debt Helpline. 

Financial Counseling Australia. (2022, October 20). Financial Counseling Australia welcomes funding for small business financial counselling.

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