Financial hardship letter: how to ask your bank, lender, telco or energy company for help

If you cannot keep up with a loan, credit card, phone bill or energy bill because your circumstances have changed, you can ask the business for hardship help, and in most cases it has to consider you. A short, calm letter should say what changed, what you can afford and what you are asking for. For a bank or lender, the request can be a hardship notice under the National Credit Code, and there are set time limits for the reply.

Claim Done drafts a Financial Hardship Request from your answers for a flat A$29. It works for a bank or lender, an energy retailer, a phone or internet provider, a buy now pay later provider or another business.

Who can ask for hardship help

Anyone whose circumstances have changed and who is struggling to pay can ask. The rules depend on who you owe.

Banks, lenders and credit cards

Moneysmart describes financial hardship as being unable to make a credit or loan repayment. It says that when you ask for help, your lender must consider you for hardship assistance. Help can be temporary, like deferring a payment, or permanent, like varying a loan.

The formal step is a hardship notice. ASIC explains that under section 72 of the National Credit Code you can tell your credit provider, verbally or in writing, that you cannot meet your obligations under the contract. Putting it in writing gives you a dated record of when you asked.

The National Credit Code was also extended to buy now pay later contracts, with the new laws in effect from 10 June 2025, according to ASIC.

Phone and internet providers

The ACMA says your telco must tell you about its payment assistance policy, discuss options with you and try to keep you connected. The rules are in the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024. It must offer at least six options, including more time to pay and a payment plan that fits what you can pay, whether your difficulty is short or long term.

Electricity and gas

Energy retailers have hardship duties too, but the rules differ by State. Check with your State’s energy regulator.

What your hardship letter should say

Moneysmart says a lender may ask why you are in hardship, your income and major expenses (such as other loans), and what repayments you can afford. Answer those up front:

• Your account. The account or customer number and the name on it.
• That you are in hardship. Say so plainly in the first line. The ACMA suggests using the words “financial hardship” and “financial assistance” with a telco.
• What changed and when. One or two sentences, with the date.
• How long you expect it to last. A few weeks, a few months, or not yet known.
• Your numbers. What comes in and your essential costs, with the period each covers. Rough figures are fine.
• What you are asking for. A pause, lower repayments for a while, a payment plan or more time to pay.
• What you can afford. A real figure and how often, for example an amount each month.
• A request for a written reply. Ask them to confirm in writing what help they can offer and whether they need any documents.

What not to over-share

Moneysmart says your lender will not ask for your life story. State the change, the date and the effect on your money, not every detail of an illness or a separation. In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission says you do not have to provide evidence of your financial situation to get energy bill assistance. If a lender asks for more information, give what it asks for.

The structure of a hardship request letter

1. Heading. Your details, the date, the business (its hardship team if it has one) and a subject line: “Financial hardship request” and the account.
2. Opening. One sentence: you are in financial hardship and asking for help with the account.
3. What changed. What happened, when, and how long you expect it to last.
4. Your numbers. Income, essential costs, and how much you owe, if you choose to include them.
5. Your request and offer. The help you want and what you can afford.
6. The rule sentence. For a lender: a hardship notice under section 72 of the National Credit Code. For a telco: their payment assistance policy. For energy: their hardship policy, or in Victoria the assistance retailers must offer.
7. Reply and close. A request for a written answer, thanks, and an offer to talk it through.

Keep it calm. It is a request for help, not a complaint.

How to send it and what to keep

Moneysmart suggests contacting your lender’s hardship team, and says you can search for “hardship” on the lender’s website. Keep a copy, the date you sent it, and any reference number you are given.

Ask early. Moneysmart says the earlier you seek help, the more options you will have. The ACMA says to tell your telco as soon as you can if you cannot pay on time.

What happens next

A bank or lender

ASIC sets out these time limits for a hardship notice under the National Credit Code:

If the lender agrees to a change that defers or reduces your repayments for more than 90 days, ASIC says it must give you written notice of the changes within 30 days of the agreement. Moneysmart says a hardship arrangement will not affect your credit score. Your credit report shows the arrangement, and that listing is deleted after 12 months.

A phone or internet provider

The ACMA says a telco must assess a financial hardship application within 5 business days and tell you the outcome within 2 business days.

If they say no or do not reply

ASIC says a lender that refuses must tell you it does not agree, give its reasons, and give you the contact details for the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and your right to complain to AFCA. Moneysmart says that if you are not happy with the response, you can complain.

For a telco, the ACMA says a complaint must be treated as urgent if you have applied under its payment assistance policy. If it is not sorted out, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman gives free help with phone and internet complaints, but asks you to raise the problem with your provider first.

If an arrangement is agreed and you later cannot keep to it, Moneysmart says to tell your lender straight away, keep paying what you can, and negotiate a new arrangement you can afford.

Free help from the National Debt Helpline

Moneysmart says you can call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 to talk to a financial counsellor, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm, or use live chat, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 8:00pm. It describes this as a free and confidential service.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting until you are months behind before asking.
• Offering a repayment you cannot keep up. Moneysmart says to only agree to an amount you can afford to pay.
• Sharing personal details the business does not need.
• Writing a complaint or a threat instead of a request.
• Not keeping a copy and the date you sent it.

When you are ready, start your Financial Hardship Request for A$29. You answer a few plain questions, read the letter first, then send it yourself or have it emailed for you.