Are you are experiencing financial hardship?

You can make a request to your lender to vary the repayments on your credit contract.

You may be considered for a hardship variation if:

there is a reasonable cause for your hardship (such as illness, unemployment or caring for a sick family member*).
your situation is temporary.
you can demonstrate that you will be able to repay the loan even if the repayments are changed.

*This is not a complete list and other causes of hardship may be considered by your lender.

Possible variations to your credit contact can include:

reduced repayments for a temporary period; or
stopping repayments for a temporary period.

You may also need to show how you will make up the missed repayments. This may include:

extending the length of the credit contract term;
increasing future repayments; or
making a lump sum repayment in the future.

For assistance in preparing your hardship variation application you may wish to use our Sample Hardship Variation Letter.

Research

Read our Hardship Variation Fact sheet and watch our video to familiarise yourself with hardship variations.

Request a Hardship Variation

For assistance in preparing your hardship variation application you may wish to use our online Auto-Letter form, or alternatively, see our Sample Hardship Variation Letter.

Wait for a Response

The lender must advise you whether your request for variation has been accepted or rejected within 21 days. They may also ask you for further information.

If you do not receive a response within 21 days or at all then you may wish to lodge a dispute with AFCA.

If the request is accepted

If your hardship variation application is accepted, the credit provider – within 30 days of accepting the variation – must give written notice of the conditions of postponement.*

This notice must also specify the consequences of not complying with these conditions.

If you fail to comply, the credit provider may seek to recover the debt from you.

*Applies to variations for periods greater than 90 days only

If the request is rejected

If your request is unreasonably rejected, you may wish to lodge a dispute with AFCA.

Information on our website is provided for information only and is not legal advice. If you would like legal advice, please message us using the form below for a confidential discussion, or scroll down to see other ways to reach us.

If you would like further advice or have a received a court document, please message us using the form below for a confidential discussion, or scroll down to see other ways to reach us.