Our History

The origins of Foresters Financial

Our history is in the community. After all, we were founded as a community.

Foresters Financial began in Victoria in 1849, as the ‘Ancient Order of Foresters’.

Back then, groups of people would band together to support each other in times of trouble. If you were a member of Foresters and a loved one became ill—or worse—you could rely on a community pool of money to help you through the hardship. For example, The Ancient Order of Foresters played a strong role in supporting members and their families through the depression, and both World Wars.

It was all underpinned by a simple principle. Everyone deserves access to support.

Regardless of who you were, where you’d come from, what you hoped to achieve, or the hardships you’d endured, The Ancient Order of Foresters represented a community of people dedicated to helping each other. Our history is built on the idea that together—as a community—we can grow, navigate the tough times, and create a better collective future.

We’re still a supportive community today, and still accessible to everyone

While a few things have changed since 1849, our spirit has remained the same.

We are:

• Member-owned. As a member, you are our absolute priority and focus.
• Dedicated to safeguarding the financial prosperity of our 80,000 members. Your financial security will always come first, because—as a proud mutual—we don’t have shareholders to distribute profits to.
• Proud to support and help you through hardship, with products designed to help you navigate some of life’s most challenging moments.

We’ve also evolved to:

• Scale our service Australia-wide to support and invest in communities around the country.
• Offer simple digital services to help you access your products and funds when you need them most.
• Manage over $390 million worth of funds, which allows us to invest in our members and give back to our community, honouring the original Foresters Financial story.