We understand that, from time to time, some customers may experience financial difficulties caused by unemployment, injury, illness, a natural disaster, or other unexpected impact on your household income and/or expenses. We are here to support customers during these times.

If your financial circumstances have changed and you are unable to pay your account(s), you can request assistance by completing an Online Hardship Application form. Please ensure you have access to the mobile number you have registered on your credit card account. A code will be sent to authenticate your identity before you can proceed with the application.

Please also have information about your income, expenses and assets on hand before you commence the application. Once you start filling in your details, you will need to complete the application as you will be unable to save and return to the form at a later stage.

If you are unable to access the Online Hardship Application form, you can apply by downloading a copy of the PDF Hardship Application form and email us or posting it to us at PO Box 3453 Sydney NSW 2001.

Important Information before you apply for Financial Hardship Assistance

  • If you hold a NAB branded product and require financial hardship assistance on that product, please contact NAB Customer Care on 1800 701 599 (8:00am-8:00pm Monday-Friday and 9:00am-1:00pm Saturday AEST).
  • If you hold a credit card or personal loan which was formerly issued by Citigroup Pty Ltd (and which is now issued by NAB) which is branded Citi, Card Services, Coles Financials Services, Suncorp Clear Options, Qantas Money, Kogan Money, Virgin Money, Bank of Queensland or; Spot. Buy Now Pay Later issued by Diners Club Pty Ltd (now part of NAB), this hardship application will also be applied to any or all of those accounts as well. If you do not require hardship assistance on all of your accounts, please do not submit an online form and contact our hardship team on 1800 722 879.
  • Once we have received your completed application form, one of our representatives will contact you to discuss your situation and solutions that may be available to assist you.
  • You are not required to provide supporting documents at the time you submit your application. We will inform you if we require supporting documents.
  • If you have been or are still paying for insurance on your Credit Card account(s) or Personal Loan product(s) you may be eligible to make a claim with the insurer. Your account statement will indicate the name of the insurer you need to contact. An insurance policy wouldn't preclude you from applying for financial hardship assistance if you still require it. Insurance information can be accessed at https://www1.citibank.com.au/insurance.
  • From the time we receive your request that you require financial hardship assistance and during the process including the time you are on an approved program, your repayment history will be reported as 'blank' to the credit bureaus. This is standard practice when reporting for customers experiencing financial hardship.
  • Your card / account may be suspended from the time we receive your application for hardship assistance, and if approved, during the entire period you are on financial hardship. Ability to transact post your Financial Hardship assistance will be based on your card or account status.

Financial Hardship Assistance and Credit Reporting

In July 2022, amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 introduced Financial Hardship Information (FHI) as a new category of information, which will be displayed on consumer credit reports alongside Repayment History Information (RHI). The Financial Hardship Information will indicate if you have entered into a temporary or permanent hardship arrangement, but will not include the reasons for the arrangement you have entered into.

Financial Hardship Information (FHI) includes:

  • The type of financial hardship arrangement you have entered into which will depend on whether the changes to the terms of your loan or obligations are permanent or temporary.
    • Variation Financial Hardship Arrangement (V) – indicates that a permanent variation to the terms of the consumer credit contract have been made and will be reported once in the month that the contractual variation took effect. Once the FHI has been reported with a Variation (V), the future RHI will be updated to indicate if the new monthly repayments are being paid on time or not.
    • Temporary relief or deferral Financial Hardship Arrangement (A) - providing temporary relief from or deferral of the individual’s obligations in relation to consumer credit, reported each month that the arrangement is in place. During the period that any temporary relief or deferral Financial Hardship Arrangement is in place, the RHI will be concurrently reported to indicate whether you are meeting the obligations of your temporary financial hardship arrangement where payments were agreed to be made.

    This information will be stored on your credit file for 1 year. Only your financial hardship information from licensed credit providers who hold an Australian Credit Licence can be recorded. Telecommunication and utility companies are not licensed credit providers, so your financial hardship information will not include these providers and they will not be able to see financial hardship information details either.

    These changes will also allow licensed credit providers to access and use this comprehensive information in order to make more informed lending decisions. However, this information cannot be used by licensed credit providers to calculate your credit score.

    You are entitled to a free credit report every three (3) months and you can request one through any of the Credit Reporting Bodies:


    Equifax


    Illion


    Experian


Contact Us

If you would like further information on how we may be able to assist you if you are experiencing financial difficulty in meeting your commitments, or would like assistance with completing an application, please call us on 1800 722 879 Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm AEST, excluding public holidays

Need More Help

You can get free independent counselling and advice from a Financial Counsellor.

For a comprehensive listing of Financial Counsellors please visit the FCA

website: financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/Home

To talk to a Financial Counsellor by phone (or for referral) call 1800 007 007 from anywhere in Australia.

You may find the following websites helpful, which provide information on managing your money.

• www.ndh.org.au/

• www.ausbanking.org.au

Need Accessibility Support

  • The National Relay Service (NRS) is a government initiative that allows people who may have hearing and/or speech impairments to make and receive phone calls.
  • For customers who may have difficulty speaking English - contact us on 1300 135 538 and we can arrange for an interpreter to help you (subject to availability).

Please visit our Contact Us page for accessibility support contact details.