3 January 2020
Australians affected by the catastrophic bushfires across parts of Australia are encouraged to contact their bank to access a wide range of available assistance.
Acting CEO of the Australian Banking Association (ABA), Vanessa Beggs, said over the past few months bank hardship teams have been working with communities impacted by natural disasters, offering customers a range of services including deferred loan repayments, waiving fees and charges and restructuring of existing loans.
“It’s hard to truly comprehend the grief and devastation that communities and individuals have experienced, through one of the worst bushfire seasons that Australians have ever known. Banks stand ready to support their customers through these very difficult times.
“Banks have hardship teams that are ready to assist customers affected by natural disasters such as these, offering help which can include deferring loan repayments, waiving fees and consolidating debt to make it more manageable,” she said.
ABA member banks offer a range of services to help customers affected by bushfires or other circumstances outside their control. These can include:
- A deferral of scheduled loan repayments
- Waiving fees and charges, including break costs on early redemption of Farm Management Deposits
- Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable
- Restructuring existing loans free of the usual establishment fees
- Deferring interest payments on a case-by-case basis
- Offering additional finance to help cover cash flow shortages
- Deferring upcoming credit card payments
- Increasing emergency credit card limits.
Small businesses affected by these bushfires are also encouraged to contact their bank to access various forms of assistance to help them through the recovery.
For more information, or to find the number for your bank’s hardship team go to dev2.ausbanking.ds1.pensoagency.com/doingittough.
Contact: Rory Grant 0475 741 007
Latest news
E&OERadio InterviewABC Melbourne with Ali MooreThursday, 30 October 2025. Topics: Crypto ATMs; scams; cash access. Ali Moore (Host): So now there are calls to ban the ATMs to try and end the scams. Simon Birmingham is the CEO of the Australian Banking Association. Simon, hello, Simon Birmingham (Guest): Hello Ali, great to be with you… Read more »
The ABA welcomes APRA’s proposals to make the internal ratings-based (IRB) accreditation process simpler and more transparent, giving mid-sized banks a competitive boost. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said the changes would support competition and deliver better outcomes for customers. “This is a practical and sensible pro‑competition step from APRA,” Mr Birmingham said. “When fully implemented,… Read more »
E&OEInterview on Sky News with Cheng Lei Cheng Lei: Australian banks closed 155 branches over the last year, but the rate of closures has slowed. For the implications, let’s bring in Australian Banking Association Chief Executive and former Liberal Minister Simon Birmingham. Mr Birmingham, welcome to the show – great to talk to you in… Read more »