PART D When things go wrong Part D applies both to individuals, in addition to the hardship provisions under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, and to Small Businesses. D1 Contact us if you are experiencing Financial Difficulty Contact us if you are experiencing Financial Difficulty 167. If you are experiencing Financial Difficulty, then you, or your representative should contact us as soon as possible. We will discuss your situation and the options available to help you. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can try to help. What does ‘Financial Difficulty’ mean? 168. Financial Difficulty means you are unable to repay what you owe, you expect to be unable to pay upcoming repayments, or you are experiencing difficulty meeting your repayment obligations. This can be as a result of an unexpected event or unforeseen changes outside your control including impacts from: a) an illness or injury; b) loss of employment; c) a pandemic; or d) natural disasters such as droughts, fires, floods and earthquakes (as declared by an Australian Federal, State or Territory Government) or, if no such declaration is made, where we are satisfied on other grounds that a natural disaster has occurred. We will listen to your situation of Financial Difficulty 169. When you contact us, or are thinking about contacting us, it is important for you to be open, and as realistic as you can be, about your financial position. In turn, we will be compassionate in trying to understand your situation and when discussing any way we can help. We will give you a choice to have us deal with your financial counsellor or representative 170. If we are working with you to help you respond to Financial Difficulties, then you can tell us to deal with your financial counsellor or representative, rather than dealing with you. To do this, you will need to give us their contact details in writing. 171. However, we may deal with you directly again in the following situations: a) if you ask us to; b) if we have made reasonable attempts to contact, or deal with, your financial counsellor or representative but we are unsuccessful; or c) if your representative is not a financial counsellor, and: i) we reasonably believe the representative is not acting in your best interests; or ii) it is otherwise reasonable to do so in the circumstances. If we decide to deal with you directly under (b), or (c), we will tell you, and will suggest other free alternatives that may be available to you. We will respond promptly to you or your representative 172. We will respond promptly to you, or your representative’s request to discuss your Financial Difficulties. We may contact you if you are experiencing Financial Difficulty We may contact you if we think you are experiencing Financial Difficulty 173. We will employ a range of practices that can identify common indicators of Financial Difficulty. If we identify that you may be experiencing difficulty paying what you owe under a Loan (or are experiencing Financial Difficulty), then we may contact you to discuss your situation and the options available to help you. We will do this on a 32 | ausbanking.org.au
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