Financial Hardship Assistance

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.

The financial hardship assistance we can provide you will depend on your circumstances, and what type of difficulty you're experiencing.

Assistance may be offered in the follow ways:

• defer payments,
• reduced repayments - which may included an interest-only period,
• interest-only repayments,
• capitalising arrears - repayments recalculated over the remaining loan term, after the period of assistance has ended,
• loan restructure - via discussions with a lender,
• fee waivers.

We’ll assess each application on its merits and offer the type of help that is most appropriate to your situation.

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.

In line with legislation introduced 1 July 2022, if you receive help for financial hardship, BCU Bank is required to indicate that you are under 'Financial Hardship Assistance' and a record will be placed on your repayment history indicator. This will be in place for a period of 12 months from the date assistance was provided. We will not advise any credit provider of the reason for assistance.

However, if you default on that arrangement or otherwise break the terms of the help offered, we do reserve our rights under the loan contract.

Australian legislation outlines your rights to financial hardship assistance and how banks and financial institutions must manage applications. There are three key frameworks that govern how banks can provide hardship assistance to their customers:

• National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP Act) which includes the National Credit Code as a schedule to the Act
• Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice
• Australian Government’s hardship principles “A common approach for assisting borrowers facing financial hardship”

If you have concerns or are unsure about your legal rights should always seek independent legal advice.

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: