Financial hardship

If you apply for financial hardship assistance, we’ll ask for some information to help us understand your situation. This may include:

• Your last two pay slips, or a letter from your employer verifying your employment and income. If you're self-employed, you'll need your last two tax returns.
• Recent bank statements or transaction history for any accounts not held with us.
• Confirmation from Centrelink of any current benefits you receive.
• Any other documents that show your income.

Depending on your circumstances, we may also ask for additional information, such as:

• A medical certificate or relevant medical documents
• A notice of employment termination
• Relevant legal documents
• Any other information that may help support your application

If you're unsure what to provide or would like to talk through your situation, please call us on 1300 591 276. Our team is available Monday to Friday, between 8:30am and 5.00pm AWST.

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:

• assistance to sell,
• payment test,
• 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’ll acknowledge your request for financial hardship assistance within two business days. When reviewing your application, we may contact you if we need additional information to support your request.

We'll let you know the outcome of your application, including whether we can offer financial hardship assistance or other support, within 21 days.

If you'd like an update on your application or have any questions, please call us on 1300 591 276. Our team is available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm AWST.

In line with legislation introduced 1 July 2022, if you receive help for financial hardship, P&N 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 financial hardship assistance is considered, including:

• The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP Act), which includes the National Credit Code
• The Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice
• The Australian Government’s hardship principles: A common approach for assisting borrowers facing financial hardship

These frameworks help ensure hardship requests are assessed fairly and consistently.

If you're worried or unsure about your rights, you should seek independent legal advice.

While we’ll always try to support customers experiencing financial difficulty, we may not always be able to offer the assistance you’re after.

If you:

• are not satisfied with the response or support provided by P&N Bank, or
• would like to make a complaint about how your hardship request was handled 

you can use our internal dispute resolution (IDR) process by contacting our Member Engagement Team:

 Online: Feedback form

 Email: member.advocate@pnbank.com.au

 Phone: 13 25 77

 Mail: Attn: Member Advocate, P&N Bank, PO Box 8609, PERTH BC WA 6849

If you're still not satisfied after raising your concerns with us, you can contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is an independent external dispute resolution scheme (EDR) and is free to customers of financial institutions.  

You can contact AFCA by:

 Website: www.afca.org.au

 Email: info@afca.org.au

 Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)

 Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001

 

Please note: You should first try to resolve your dispute with P&N Bank before contacting or lodging a dispute or complaint with AFCA. 

You may find the following tools and information helpful.

• Your Financial Wellness - a online website designed to help you improve your financial literacy, build confidence and make sound financial decisions.
• mymo by P&N Bank
• Five steps to creating a budget
• Easy online calculators 
• MoneySmart, an online resource provided by ASIC 
• Financial Counsellors Association for links to financial counsellors within WA 
• National Debt Hotline