Bushfire assistance / bank hardship teams
5 February 2021
West Australians affected by bushfires in parts of the state are encouraged to contact their bank to access a wide range of available assistance
“With more than 80 homes and properties lost to date, tragically many West Australians will be facing financial difficulty on top of everything else”, said Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh.
“The message from banks is clear: don’t tough it out on your own, your bank is ready to help”.
In recent years 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.
“The most important consideration right now is staying safe. But when West Australians affected by recent bushfires are ready to pick up the pieces, their bank will be ready to help,” Ms Bligh said.
“The most important consideration right now is staying safe. But when West Australians affected by recent bushfires are ready to pick up the pieces, their bank will be ready to help,”
ABA CEO Anna Bligh
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 access to term 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 bushfires are also encouraged to contact their bank to access various forms of assistance.
For more information, or to find the number for your bank’s hardship team go to dev2.ausbanking.ds1.pensoagency.com/doingittough.
Latest news
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has released an updated industry guideline setting out best practice for banks when assisting customers experiencing financial difficulty. The updated guideline reflects the industry’s ongoing commitment to support customers when they need it most. ABA CEO Anna Bligh said this guideline builds on the existing obligations as well as the… Read more »
ABA CEO Anna Bligh: Well, here we are on the front line of the fight against scams. This is one of Australia’s largest banks, and the team of people here talking with customers, trying to protect customers and fight against scammers. Today, here we are launching a new piece of technology called Confirmation of Payee…. Read more »
Australian banks have today unveiled their latest scam fighting technology, with the launch of Confirmation of Payee – a new name-matching service designed to help protect customers from being tricked into sending money to criminals. Banks have invested $100 million in this new technology which is a key initiative of the sector’s Scam-Safe Accord –… Read more »