Financial hardship

Are you struggling to make your loan repayments? Are you experiencing financial hardship?

We know that unexpected things can happen in life and you might not be financially prepared to cope. For example, losing your job, getting sick or a relationship breaking down may cause you to struggle with your loan or credit card repayments.

If you find yourself in a situation like this, we encourage you to talk to us about how your change in circumstances is impacting your financial position – we might be able to offer you some assistance to help you deal with the financial difficulties you’re facing.

We will take the time to understand your situation. We’ll ask you for information on your financial position and carefully consider how we might be able to help you get back on track.

If you’ve been paying more than the scheduled repayments into your home loan or personal loan you might be able to access these funds via a redraw. To find out more about this you can contact the ANZ Mortgage Redraw team on 1800 077 070 or the ANZ Personal Loans Redraw team on 1800 801 485.

Find out more

Our dedicated hardship team, Customer Connect, will individually assess each request for assistance. Customer Connect will seek to understand your situation by gathering information from you on:

How your circumstances have changed and how you expect them to improve
Your current financial position
How assistance from us will help you get back on track with your loan or credit card repayments

You can provide us with this information and apply for assistance by downloading and completing the ANZ Customer Connect Assistance Application form (PDF 16kB).

You can return your completed form by fax or post:

Product	Fax number	Mailing address
Home Loan	1800 462 852	Locked Bag 9 Collins Street West Melbourne, Victoria 8007
Personal Loan, Credit Card and Personal Overdraft	1800 010 057	Locked Bag 10 Collins Street West, Melbourne, Victoria 8007
Small Business Loans	1800 678 230	Locked Bag 9 Collins Street West Melbourne Victoria 8007
Esanda Loan	1300 558 672	8/75 Dorcas Street South Melbourne, Victoria 3205

You can also call Customer Connect on 1800 252 845. For assistance with Esanda loans call 1800 838 100.

Other information we may ask for
You may be asked to provide supporting documentation to help us assess your application and determine if we can provide you with assistance to help you overcome your financial hardship. We’ll let you know if we need you to provide any documents such as: medical certificates Centrelink statements notice of employment termination verification of your income statements of loans and credit cards with other lenders any other documents that may support your request for assistance.

Other information we may ask for

You may be asked to provide supporting documentation to help us assess your application and determine if we can provide you with assistance to help you overcome your financial hardship.

We’ll let you know if we need you to provide any documents such as:

medical certificates
Centrelink statements
notice of employment termination
verification of your income
statements of loans and credit cards with other lenders
any other documents that may support your request for assistance.

What type of assistance will ANZ be able to provide?
The type of assistance we may be able to provide will vary depending on your individual circumstances. For eligible customers, assistance may include options such as: extending the term of a loan to reduce ongoing repayment deferring loan repayments for a short period of time temporarily reducing repayments refinancing. These are a guide of potential assistance options only – we need to look at your existing loan or credit card, and your particular circumstances, to see what might be suitable.

What type of assistance will ANZ be able to provide?

The type of assistance we may be able to provide will vary depending on your individual circumstances. For eligible customers, assistance may include options such as:

extending the term of a loan to reduce ongoing repayment
deferring loan repayments for a short period of time
temporarily reducing repayments
refinancing.

These are a guide of potential assistance options only – we need to look at your existing loan or credit card, and your particular circumstances, to see what might be suitable.

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Do you have ANZ Credit or Loan repayment insurance? Or maybe you have Income Protection Insurance?

If you have insurance and the unexpected has happened, such as being unable to work due to illness, injury or unemployment, your repayment obligations may be covered.

For more information visit the Credit and Loan Insurance page or call us on 13 33 33.

If you have insurance through a provider other than ANZ you may wish to speak with them about your policy and whether you’re covered for the unexpected change in circumstances that you’ve experienced and to discuss your insurance options.

Frequently Asked Questions

We understand there are many questions you need answered. The most commonly asked questions are listed below. If you are still unsure, or you have further questions, please contact our Customer Connect team.

Who needs to complete the Application for Assistance form?
If you’ve got a joint loan it’s best to provide as much information as possible about all borrowers as the information will be used by ANZ’s Customer Connect team to assess your request for assistance.

What happens once I’ve submitted an Application for Assistance?
ANZ’s Customer Connect team will carefully consider your request for assistance and will get in touch with you to provide a response. It’s important to try to maintain your loan or credit card repayments in the meantime and until any variation is agreed between you and ANZ.

What can I do if my application for assistance is declined?
If your circumstances have permanently changed or you’re not likely to be able to maintain your repayments over the short to medium term, then varying your repayments might not be the best option for you. If this is the case, you may wish to seek some financial advice, either from a financial planner or a financial counsellor, about the options available to you, which may include the sale of an asset.

What can I do if my application for assistance is declined?

If your circumstances have permanently changed or you’re not likely to be able to maintain your repayments over the short to medium term, then varying your repayments might not be the best option for you. If this is the case, you may wish to seek some financial advice, either from a financial planner or a financial counsellor, about the options available to you, which may include the sale of an asset.

Our financial hardship initiatives

Our Customer Connect program is designed to make it as easy as possible for customers facing financial difficulty to get the help they need.

Providing the right support for customers, which may include deferring their repayments, extending their loans or establishing flexible short term arrangements, are designed to help them to get back on track and build a positive and lasting relationship with ANZ.

Each year thousands of our customers facing difficult and generally unexpected circumstances are referred to our Customer Connect team. In 2011, we helped more than 30,000 people facing hardship in Australia and New Zealand.

In our efforts to continually improve our support for customers we review and pilot new initiatives. In 2011 we piloted a program to proactively contact customers in Australia showing early signs of financial stress, We also continue to review ways in which we can better understand the needs of our customers in New Zealand that are facing financial hardship, and ensure that our customers and frontline staff receive appropriate support to deal with these situations.

Independent debt advice referral service
In 2010 we piloted a service to provide customers in financial difficulty with direct and timely access to a free and confidential debt advice service. The service was offered over-the-phone by financial counsellors. The pilot was run in partnership with Kildonan Uniting Care, recognised experts in the field of financial counselling. We have now completed the pilot and our reviews have concluded that our service provided an additional level of support to customers in financial hardship. The ability to discuss their whole situation and all their financial obligations helped the customers involved in the pilot to feel more in control of their situation and confident that they could navigate their way through.

Independent debt advice referral service

In 2010 we piloted a service to provide customers in financial difficulty with direct and timely access to a free and confidential debt advice service. The service was offered over-the-phone by financial counsellors.

The pilot was run in partnership with Kildonan Uniting Care, recognised experts in the field of financial counselling.

We have now completed the pilot and our reviews have concluded that our service provided an additional level of support to customers in financial hardship. The ability to discuss their whole situation and all their financial obligations helped the customers involved in the pilot to feel more in control of their situation and confident that they could navigate their way through.

Early Assistance Pilot
Our Early Assistance Pilot aimed to support customers who were showing signs of potential financial stress, before they missed any repayments. The initiative offered customers access to a range of early assistance measures to help them avoid more serious financial problems down the track. The early assistance measures we piloted with customers included temporarily reducing their repayments, setting up instalment plans to help them manage down their outstanding debt, helping them develop more convenient ways to manage their accounts, and access to financial education and literacy programs. A review of our pilot has shown that the initiative resulted in lower default rates for customers who took up the early assistance measures when compared to a control group. We are now in the process of examining our findings and exploring how to transfer learnings into our standard operating procedures.

Early Assistance Pilot

Our Early Assistance Pilot aimed to support customers who were showing signs of potential financial stress, before they missed any repayments. The initiative offered customers access to a range of early assistance measures to help them avoid more serious financial problems down the track.

The early assistance measures we piloted with customers included temporarily reducing their repayments, setting up instalment plans to help them manage down their outstanding debt, helping them develop more convenient ways to manage their accounts, and access to financial education and literacy programs.

A review of our pilot has shown that the initiative resulted in lower default rates for customers who took up the early assistance measures when compared to a control group. We are now in the process of examining our findings and exploring how to transfer learnings into our standard operating procedures.

Case study: Supporting farmers in Australia
During 2011, following a temporary suspension, the Australian Government introduced more stringent requirements for cattle exporters involved in live cattle trade to Indonesia. This development has impacted many ANZ customers working across the Australian cattle industry – including producers, transport companies, exporters and their families. As a leading bank in the Agribusiness sector across Australia and New Zealand, we were quick to offer assistance, announcing a support package for affected customers, similar to that made available to customers affected by natural disasters. Michael Whitehead, Director Agribusiness Research – Institutional, says: “We have demonstrated our long-term commitment to the Agribusiness sector and our customers during these challenging market conditions. Using our expertise and insights, we were able to assess the potential customer impact and respond quickly.” ANZ announces assistance package for beef industry (PDF 24kB)

Case study: Supporting farmers in Australia

During 2011, following a temporary suspension, the Australian Government introduced more stringent requirements for cattle exporters involved in live cattle trade to Indonesia.

This development has impacted many ANZ customers working across the Australian cattle industry – including producers, transport companies, exporters and their families.

As a leading bank in the Agribusiness sector across Australia and New Zealand, we were quick to offer assistance, announcing a support package for affected customers, similar to that made available to customers affected by natural disasters.

Michael Whitehead, Director Agribusiness Research – Institutional, says: “We have demonstrated our long-term commitment to the Agribusiness sector and our
customers during these challenging market conditions. Using our expertise and insights, we were able to assess the potential customer impact and respond quickly.”