Financial Hardship Assistance

We'll do our best to work with you and may be able to offer you financial hardship assistance.

We understand that unexpected or exceptional circumstances can occur such as:

• injury or illness
• unemployment
• divorce or relationship separation
• unexpected reduction of income

These circumstances can impact your financial situation and your ability to make repayments to your loans and other credit contracts. We are here to help customers experiencing hardship or having genuine difficulty meeting repayments.

Examples of assistance we may be able to provide include, but are not limited to, flexibility or moratorium in meeting your scheduled repayments, or an extension of your loan term resulting in lower monthly repayments.

What should I do if I am suffering financial hardship or having financial difficulties?

If you are unable to meet your financial obligations as a result of financial difficulties, you may be eligible to receive financial hardship assistance from BCU.

How do I apply?

In the first instance, we recommend you contact our Credit Management team on 1300 228 228, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm AEDT.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with us via one on the following options:

What supporting information is required with my application?

The information that we will need from you will vary dependant on your individual circumstances, but will usually include:

• your last two (2) payslips or a letter from your employer verifying your employment and income (if self-employed, your last two BAS statements),
• recent bank statements or transaction history,
• confirmation from Centrelink of any current benefits paid, and
• any other documentary evidence of income or as required.

We may also require additional information, which may include:

• a medical certificate or any relevant medical documents,
• notice of termination of employment,
• any relevant legal documentation, and
• any other documents that may support your application or as required.

What happens next?

We will acknowledge your request for financial assistance within 24 hours of receiving it.

We will then review your application and may be able to offer you assistance if you are suffering genuine financial difficulties or hardship and can demonstrate that you are still able to meet your loan and credit contract obligations if provided with assistance.

We will advise whether we are able to offer you financial hardship assistance, or any other appropriate arrangement within 21 days of receiving your application.

What if I do not agree with BCU's decision?

Whilst we will always attempt to provide assistance to those that are experiencing genuine financial difficulty, we may not always be able to provide this assistance, for a variety of reasons.

Should you disagree with a decision made by BCU, or wish to make a complaint in relation to your request for hardship, you can utilise BCU's internal dispute resolution (IDR) process by calling our Contact Centre on 1300 228 228 and requesting to speak with the Member Advocate, or:

BCU also subscribes to an external dispute resolution scheme (EDR) provided by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), who can be contacted as follows:

Further information about financial hardship

For further information relating to and for assistance with financial hardship, please visit the following links:

• Visit MoneySmart, an online resource provided by ASIC
• Financial Counsellors Association for links to financial counsellors within NSW
• View BCU's Financial Assistance Guide