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
Media Releases
Release of Strategic Review into roll-out of the Consumer Data Right
Read more
3 July 2024
The ABA has today released the findings of a strategic review undertaken by Accenture into the roll-out of Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime. The CDR went live to customers of major banks in July 2020, and to customers of other banks in July 2021. Approaching 4 years since its launch, the ABA commissioned Accenture… Read more »
Media Releases
Updated rule book for banks
Read more
27 June 2024
The Australian Banking Association welcomes ASIC’s approval of an updated Banking Code of Practice that will continue to drive better banking outcomes for customers. The updated Code strengthens consumer protections by providing customers with safeguards that are in addition to the law. ABA CEO Anna Bligh said this Code will provide an even higher… Read more »
Media Releases
Mobile wallet transactions overtake ATM cash withdrawals in digital banking boom
Read more
27 June 2024
Australia’s digital banking boom is continuing with payments by mobile wallets surging by 35 per cent in the last year alone, according to a new report released today by the Australian Banking Association. The 2024 ‘Bank On It’ Report shows that in the last year alone customers made $126 billion in payments with their mobile… Read more »