Should I apply for financial hardship assistance?
Financial hardship assistance can be an effective means to get through a short-term period of financial difficulty.However, is it very important to be aware of the longer-term impacts. For example, if you are eligible for a repayment break, interest will continue to accrue on your loan meaning that your principal mortgage balance will increase. At the end of the period your loan repayments will be recalculated on the new loan balance over the remaining term, meaning your regular repayments will increase. So it is important to consider your long-term plans if considering this option.
As another example, if you temporarily switch to Interest Only repayments, your loan balance won’t change during the Interest Only period. However, as you have a shorter period to repay the balance of your loan your Principal and Interest payments will increase at the end of the Interest Only term.
It is very important to ensure you understand the longer-term impacts of financial assistance before proceeding.
Hardship assistance - Resimac-funded loans
Due to the current health situation we are receiving a high volumes of requests and our response times are currently higher than normal.Causes leading to financial hardship vary, and so do the hardship solutions offered by Resimac.
Factors considered by us may include:
- Whether the hardship being experienced is short term/temporary
- What lead to the hardship
- Your repayment history prior to the hardship event
- A genuine discussion about how you believe you will be able to meet servicing requirements at the conclusion of the hardship relief
Resimac consultants are available to help with enquiries and can discuss the relief options available to customers experiencing financial difficulties. Common types of assistance we support include:
- Deferred repayments / repayment break
- Converting your repayments from principal and interest to interest only
- Reduced repayments
- Long term repayment arrangements
- Time to seek financial / counselling advice
Our team of specialists will work in partnership with you to determine the most suitable arrangement for you.
Note that if you have redraw available, it's our policy that these funds must be put towards your repayments before you can be eligible for financial hardship assistance*.
* Please note that financial assistance policies may vary for loans funded by our wholesale funding partners.
Submit a hardship application
To apply for hardship assistance please complete and return the Statement of Financial Position form, including details of your requested arrangement. Download the form here.
If you require any assistance completing the form, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1300 793 941 or financialassistance@resimac.com.au.
In addition, would you please provide the following information:
- Evidence of your current income e.g. recent payslips (PAYG), recent BAS (Self-employed) or Centrelink statements
- 3 months of your most recent transaction account statements
This information is necessary to allow us to understand your current financial position and determine an appropriate arrangement. You can return the requested information in the following ways:
- Email to financialassistance@resimac.com.au, or
- Post to PO Box H284, Australia Square, NSW, 1215
Once your application has been submitted, one of our team members will be in touch to find a solution that best suits your situation.
What we may be able to do
Our approach is to assess an application for hardship relief or assistance by reference to:
- The reason you are seeking assistance; and
- Your ability to service the loan in the long term
In practice, this means that we seek to establish that there is a need to provide short-term assistance and that the assistance provided will not merely delay an outcome that may be inevitable.
What you can do to assist us
Demonstrate that:- You will be able to meet your loan repayments if the terms of your contract are changed; and
- The cause of the hardship you’re experiencing is temporary
It is in your interests to respond promptly to our requests for information and provide current and accurate details of your financial position.
Additional help
If you need additional help, financial counselling services help people who are in financial difficulty. These services are available in every state and territory and provide a free, independent and confidential service. ASIC’s Money Smart provides more information on these services. See: www.moneysmart.gov.au.If you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint, you may make a complaint to our External Dispute Resolution Scheme, Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which can be contacted on 1800 931 678 or info@afca.org.au
