Preparing financially
If you're struggling to make repayments
How to make a hardship request, what lenders must do, the arrangements available, how it affects your credit report, and what a default notice means.
- Contact your lender's hardship team directly and clearly ask for "financial hardship assistance" so it's formally logged as a request.
- A lender must consider a genuine hardship request and generally decide within 21 days if it has enough information — but isn't required to approve your preferred arrangement.
- A repayment pause or reduction generally defers rather than erases what you owe — ask how interest and the total cost will change.
- A hardship arrangement can appear on your credit report but isn't used to calculate your credit score, and is generally retained for only 12 months.
- A default notice ordinarily gives at least 30 days to remedy the default — don't ignore it.
Free help exists
If repayments become genuinely difficult, free, independent financial counselling is available through the National Debt Helpline (National Debt Helpline (funded by state/territory governments), verified 29 Jul 2026) — not a service tied to any lender, and not the same as a paid financial adviser (see free financial counselling).
How do you actually make a hardship request?
Work out roughly what you can actually afford to repay, then contact your lender's dedicated hardship team — not just general customer service — and clearly ask for "financial hardship assistance" so it's formally treated as a hardship request. Provide only the information reasonably needed to assess it, and once a decision is made, get the arrangement in writing rather than relying on a phone conversation.
What must the lender actually do?
A lender must consider a genuine hardship request — but isn't required to approve the specific arrangement you ask for. When the lender has enough information, it generally must give its decision within 21 days of receiving the request; if it needs more information first, different statutory steps and timeframes can apply, so don't assume every situation resolves in exactly 21 days.
What kinds of arrangements are possible?
| Arrangement | What it generally means |
|---|---|
| Temporary reduced repayments | Pay less than the full amount for an agreed period |
| Payment deferral (pause) | Pause repayments for an agreed period |
| Payment plan for arrears | Catch up on missed repayments over time, alongside ongoing repayments |
| Loan-term or contract variation | Extend the term or otherwise restructure to reduce repayments |
| Planned sale | Where the loan genuinely isn't sustainable, an organised sale rather than a forced one |
A repayment pause or reduction generally defers rather than erases what you owe — ask specifically how interest, arrears and the total loan cost will change under any arrangement offered, not just what the new repayment will be.
Does a hardship arrangement affect your credit report?
A hardship arrangement can appear on your credit report, but the reason for the hardship isn't disclosed, and credit reporting bodies can't use financial hardship information to calculate your credit score. This information is generally retained for 12 months. That protection is separate from missed repayments made outside an arrangement, which remain a credit-reporting risk in their own right — see credit reports and your home loan application.
What if the request is refused or unsuitable?
First raise it through the lender's internal dispute resolution process. If that doesn't resolve it — or the lender's refused, delayed or offered something you genuinely can't sustain — you can complain to AFCA free of charge. See how to complain about a lender, broker or insurer for the process.
Received a default notice? Don't ignore it
A default notice ordinarily gives you at least 30 days to remedy the stated default before enforcement action can progress — that window is valuable, but only if you act within it. Court processes and property law details vary by state and territory, so if you've received a default notice or any court document, get help immediately from a financial counsellor and a legal assistance service rather than waiting.
A genuine last resort: early release of superannuation
Where you've received a default notice, have no other way to pay the amount needed, and the property is your principal place of residence, super can be released early on compassionate grounds to prevent foreclosure or a forced sale — capped at the sum of 3 months of normal repayments plus 12 months of interest on the outstanding balance in any 12-month period (National Debt Helpline (funded by state/territory governments), verified 4 Aug 2026). This is a genuine last resort, not a first response — it draws down retirement savings with a real long-term cost, so raise it with a financial counsellor alongside, not instead of, a hardship request to your lender.
Practical checklist
If repayments are becoming difficult
- Contact the National Debt Helpline for free, independent advice
- Contact your lender's hardship team directly and ask for hardship assistance by name
- Gather your income, expense and debt details before either call
- Get any hardship arrangement confirmed in writing
- If you've received a default notice, get help immediately — don't wait out the remedy period
Questions for a professional
- What hardship options are available to me given my specific situation?
- How would this arrangement change my interest, arrears and total loan cost?
- How would a hardship arrangement affect my credit report?
- What happens if I can't meet this arrangement either?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- National Debt Helpline — National Debt Helpline (funded by state/territory governments) (retrieved 29 Jul 2026)
- Early release of superannuation to prevent foreclosure — National Debt Helpline (funded by state/territory governments) (retrieved 4 Aug 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.