What telcos must do when you can't pay your bill
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Phone and internet providers have obligations to help you if you're in financial hardship. They can't just cut you off — there's a process, and you have rights.
This is general information, not financial or legal advice. For help with your specific situation, call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 (free, confidential).
If you tell your telco you're in financial hardship, it must explain its hardship policy, assess a complete application within 5 business days, and offer options suited to what you can afford.
Your telco must offer you at least six forms of assistance, which must include deferring payment and a payment plan tailored to what you can afford. Other options can include a discount or credit on your bill, waiving part of the debt, spend controls, removing extras you don't need at no cost, or moving you to a plan that suits you better.
Your provider must not restrict, suspend or disconnect your service while you are discussing hardship assistance, have an application in, or have an arrangement in place. This protection can end if you don't keep to an agreed arrangement and your provider has reviewed it and tried to contact you.
You can ask to be moved to a plan that better suits your circumstances — one of the options providers can offer as hardship assistance. Applying for and setting up hardship assistance must be free.
Suspension or disconnection must be a last resort, and your provider must give you at least 10 business days' written notice before restricting, suspending or disconnecting, including the reasons, the charges involved, and contacts for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and free financial counselling.
If your telco won't help or disconnects you unfairly, lodge a free complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO can make decisions binding on your provider up to $100,000.
Usually not at first. Most creditors start with questions, not documents, and many ask about your income, spending and debts. Some want documents or a full statement before deciding, especially for longer help or a waiver.
All of Australia
For short-term help (up to 3 billing cycles), your provider can't ask you to prove you're in hardship. This applies in every state.
For longer-term help, it may ask for information to show hardship. It can only ask if the debt is over a set amount, you joined under 2 months ago, or it reasonably believes fraud is possible. It must ask only if strictly necessary.
If family violence may be involved, it can't ask you to prove hardship either. The only exception is longer-term help. Even then, it can ask only if one of those three things applies, and only if strictly necessary.
Its hardship policy must say that you don't have to provide evidence for short-term help or if you're affected by family violence.
When it asks for information to show hardship, it can never ask for anything irrelevant to your application or unreasonably hard to provide. It can still ask about your situation to work out which option fits.
Ask for the financial hardship team, not general billing or collections.
“I'm in financial hardship and I'd like short-term help under your financial hardship policy.”
A financial counsellor can negotiate with companies on your behalf — for free.