12 January 2016
Sydney, 12 January 2016: A range of assistance packages are available from banks to help communities affected by the bushfires in Western Australia, the Australian Bankers’ Association said today.
ABA Chief Executive Steven Münchenberg said: “Individual banks have announced assistance packages to help ease some of the burden faced by people who have lost homes and been impacted by the bushfires.
“If your household or business has been affected, contact your bank as soon as possible to find out what type of assistance is on offer,” he said.
The support offered to customers will depend on individual circumstances and needs, but may include:
- Suspending home loan or credit card repayments
- Waiving charges associated with withdrawing term deposits early
- Emergency accommodation assistance, and
- Waiving fees related to restructuring business loans.
ENDS
Contact: Stephanie Arena 0477 470 677 or Nic Frankham 0435 963 913
Latest news
E&OERadio InterviewABC Radio Sydney29 July 2026 Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Thomas Oriti: Do you have an offset account? I think most people with a mortgage do. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s an account that’s linked to your mortgage and it saves you interest. So, I’ll give you an example…. Read more »
E&OETV InterviewABC News29 July 2026. Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Ros Childs: Borrowers are being advised to check if they have paid more interest than they should following an ASIC review. The two-year review conducted by the corporate watchdog has found weaknesses in how eight banks monitored and managed offset accounts, resulting in borrowers… Read more »
E&OETV InterviewDoorstop29 July 2026 Topics: ASIC report into offset accounts Journalist: Simon, what’s your reaction to the report from ASIC today? Simon Birmingham: ASIC’s report is really important and it’s welcomed by the banking industry. This report shows that in well over 99 per cent of cases, mortgage offset accounts are working exactly they should… Read more »