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Working for your financial and consumer rights
To be eligible:
*This is not a complete list and other causes of hardship may be considered by your lender.
Possible variations to your repayments can include:
You may also need to show how you will make up the missed repayments. This may include:
1
Read our Hardship Variation Fact sheet and watch our video to familiarise yourself with hardship variations.
2
There are maximum thresholds for credit contracts. If the loan amount exceeds this – a hardship variation can still be requested, but a lender may reject the request on this basis. See the MoneySmart website for more information about thresholds.
For credit contracts entered into before 1st March 2013
Please refer to Step by step guide to applying for a Hardship Variation before 1 March 2013;
For credit contracts enter into on or after 1st March 2013
Please refer to Step by Step Guide to Giving a Hardship Notice on or after 1 March 2013;
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.
3
The lender must advise you whether the variation has been accepted or rejected within 21 days. They may also ask you for further information.
If you do not receive a response to your application you may wish to lodge a dispute with AFCA (Refer to Step by Step Guides above).
4
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 your request is rejected you may wish to lodge a dispute with AFCA (Refer to Step by Step Guides above)
If you have missed a repayment, you are in default and your lender may send you a default notice.
Refer to; Default Notices Fact Sheet for more information
If your lender does not agree to a Hardship Variation and you have received a default notice, you can make a request to your lender to postpone recovering the debt from you under the credit contract within 30 days of receiving the default notice.
Postponement request flow chart
Please note: Until 1 March 2013, your creditor or lender is not required to provide written notice on whether they agree to vary a contract.
If you have received a court documents, please contact us to discuss further.
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.
