How to protect yourself and make smart decisions under pressure
Making decisions about a struggling business under pressure, without qualified help, can create personal liability that didn't exist before. The Small Business Debt Helpline (1800 413 828) gives free, independent financial counselling to small business owners. Use it before making any commitments.
Need to talk to someone? 1800 007 007 — National Debt Helpline, free and confidential.
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We'll show you local numbers, services, and rights specific to your state.
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This is the most important thing: understand which debts are personal and which are business. If you're a sole trader, there's no separation — you're personally liable for everything. If you're a company (Pty Ltd), you generally aren't liable for company debts unless you gave personal guarantees. Check your loan documents.
Free, independent and confidential financial counselling for small business owners: 1800 413 828, Mon–Fri 9am–5:30pm Sydney time. For a dispute with another business or a government agency, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) can help on 1300 650 460. Use the free options before paying anyone for advice.
If you're a company director, you have legal obligations when the business is insolvent (can't pay debts as they fall due). Trading while insolvent can make you personally liable. Get advice before making any more commitments.
Directors can become personally liable for a company's unpaid PAYG withholding, GST and super guarantee charge through director penalty notices. If you owe the ATO, call the ATO's lodge and pay line on 13 11 42 and ask about a payment plan. The ATO has payment plans and hardship options; calling early, before they chase you, keeps more of them open.
If business stress is affecting your ability to pay personal debts (mortgage, credit cards), apply for hardship now. Don't wait until you default. For personal loans and credit cards, the lender must consider a hardship request and respond.
For companies: Small Business Restructuring (SBR) lets viable businesses restructure debts while you keep control. Voluntary Administration is for more serious situations. For sole traders: a Debt Agreement or personal insolvency agreement may help. Talk to the Small Business Debt Helpline (1800 413 828), or for personal debts the National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007), before deciding.
Your rights, who to call, and free services — everything in one place.
You can apply for a hardship variation on any loan, credit card, car finance, or mortgage. Since June 2025, buy now pay later services like Afterpay and Zip are also covered. Call your lender's hardship team (not general customer service) and tell them you're experiencing financial hardship and would like to discuss your options.
Your lender must respond to your hardship notice within 21 days. If they need more information, they must request it within 21 days, then respond within 21 days of receiving it. NAB was fined $15.5 million in 2025 for failing to respond to 345 hardship customers — this law is enforced.
Your lender must consider your request and respond within about 21 days. If they say no, they must tell you why in writing and how to complain to AFCA. Options you can ask for include reduced repayments, a repayment pause, an interest rate freeze, fee waivers, or a longer loan term.
If you give your lender a hardship notice, they cannot START court enforcement until they have given you a written decision saying you have not agreed, and 14 days have passed since that notice. They can still send a default notice in the meantime, and can still take mortgaged goods if they reasonably believe you are disposing of them or urgent action is needed to protect them. The protection does not apply if you gave a hardship notice on materially the same basis in the previous four months. Ask them, in writing, to pause collection activity while they assess it.
When you enter a hardship arrangement, a note appears on your credit report, and it's removed 12 months after the arrangement ends. A default listing, on the other hand, stays for 5 years and seriously damages your ability to borrow. Asking for help early is one of the best ways to avoid a default.
You can ask your lender to extend the loan term, reduce or defer repayments, pause interest, waive fees, or restructure the debt. In severe cases, part of the debt may be written off. Fee waivers and reduced repayments are the most common forms of help.
If your lender refuses your hardship request or offers inadequate help, you can lodge a free complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. AFCA can order the lender to vary your contract, refund fees, reverse interest charges, and award compensation up to $631,500 for direct loss.
Tap any number to call directly. Tell them you're experiencing financial hardship.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for Financial Hardship Assistance (call, the webform at angleauto.com.au/financial-hardship, or email) and request reduced repayments, a repayment holiday, or support to sell or voluntary-surrender the vehicle; confirm the contract number starts with a number (Angle Auto Finance, regulated) not a letter (the separate, unregulated Angle Finance).
What to say: Ask for the Financial Wellbeing Assist team and lodge a hardship notice (ANZ Specialist Customer Connect is the dedicated family-violence/financial-abuse specialist team, not the general hardship line - see notes for its number).
Your right: Must respond within 21 days. If they refuse, you can escalate to AFCA for free.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the Financial Assist team and lodge a hardship notice; as a financial counsellor call the Financial Assist Represented team instead.
What to say: Ask for the Mortgage Help Centre (it handles all retail lending hardship - home loans, personal loans, cards, overdrafts - despite the name) and lodge a hardship notice.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the Customer Assistance Team (Financial Difficulty Assistance) for loans, or the dedicated credit card hardship line for BOQ credit cards, and lodge a hardship notice.
What to say: Ask for the hardship team and lodge a hardship application (phone, email customer.service@cashconverters.com or the online contact form), and ask for the review date.
Your right: Cash Converters must respond to hardship applications and work with you on appropriate relief. They have responsible lending obligations. If they failed to assess your capacity to repay at the time of lending, you may have grounds for a complaint to AFCA or ASIC.
What to say: Ask for the Financial Assist team (ongoing difficulty line 1300 720 814; ask separately for the short-term/missed-repayment line) and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card.
Your right: CBA must consider your hardship request and respond, generally within about 21 days.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Call 1800 110 440 and select option 2 for the Financial Assistance Team and lodge a hardship notice.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the hardship team and lodge the online hardship help form (humm90) or the online Financial Hardship form (humm Classic), then call to confirm receipt.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Call 1300 349 166 and choose option 4 for the Financial Support Team (Financial Hardship Support program) and lodge a hardship notice.
Your right: Must genuinely consider your hardship request and respond within 21 days.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for Hardship Care and lodge the online Hardship Care application (about 20 minutes) so the 21-day clock starts in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and request the Financial Hardship Form (downloadable from the page) or email help@liberty.com.au with a statement of income and expenses.
What to say: Ask for the financial assistance team (Macquarie calls it "financial assistance", not hardship) and lodge a hardship notice; applying via Online Banking or the app is their preferred route.
Your right: Must respond to hardship notices within 21 days.
What to say: Call the Customer Assistance Team for hardship help. If you have an ME credit card, ask them which team handles it; if they say Bank of Queensland (BOQ), BOQ's hardship team is listed under BOQ.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for NAB Care (ongoing hardship) or NAB Assist (short-term payment help) and lodge a hardship notice.
Your right: Must assess your situation and respond, generally within about 21 days.
What to say: Ask for the Customer Assist team of the brand the loan is with (Newcastle Permanent on the main line, Greater Bank on the alternate line) and lodge a hardship notice.
What to say: Ask for the hardship team and request a hardship arrangement in writing; Nimble publishes a financial-position-for-hardship form to accompany it.
Your right: Nimble must respond to hardship notices, generally within about 21 days, and work with you on a revised arrangement if you cannot meet your current obligations. They must not engage in unconscionable conduct or apply unreasonable fees. If they refuse your request, escalate to AFCA.
What to say: Ask for financial hardship assistance for a car finance repayment (or email hardship@nissan.com.au) and request a hardship arrangement.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the Customer Assist team (Pepper Assist) and request a hardship arrangement, or lodge the online hardship form on the page.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the Financial Assistance team and request the Statement of Financial Position form; state the arrangement you want in the request.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the Customer Assist team (Financial Difficulty) and lodge a hardship notice.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Lodge the online hardship application via Toyota Finance Online (the page's only published channel) and ask the Customer Solutions Centre to confirm receipt and the 21-day date.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
What to say: Ask for the hardship team on the dedicated hardship line and request a hardship arrangement under the National Credit Code (their FAQ tells customers they have this right).
What to say: Ask for Westpac Assist and lodge a hardship notice; as a financial counsellor go straight to the Customer Partnerships team instead.
Your right: Must respond to hardship applications within 21 days and offer genuine alternatives if they decline.
What to say: Ask for the financial hardship team and lodge a hardship notice for the affected loan or card; ask for the decision in writing.
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Free, independent, and confidential financial counselling. Call to speak to a qualified financial counsellor.
Peak body for financial counsellors — find a financial counsellor near you via their directory. Its number is the National Debt Helpline
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