Which of the following terms best defines the frequency of premium payments?

What does “financial difficulty” mean?

157. Financial difficulty means you are unable to repay what you owe and are experiencing difficulty meeting
your repayment obligations. This can be as a result of an unexpected event or unforeseen changes outside your control.

We encourage you to contact us if you are experiencing financial difficulty

158. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, then you, or your representative should contact us as soon as possible. We will discuss your situation and the options available to help you. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can try to help.

If you have a joint account and are experiencing financial difficulty

159. If you have a joint account with someone and you are experiencing financial difficulty, then we can assist you. If you ask us to, we can do so without involving the other person initially.

If you guarantee a debt to us and are experiencing financial difficulty

160. If you are a guarantor and we have made a demand for you to pay under a guarantee and you are experiencing financial difficulty, then contact us as soon as possible and we will discuss your options.

Be open about your situation of financial difficulty

161. When you contact us, or are thinking about contacting us, it is important for you to be open, and as realistic as you can be, about your financial position. In turn, we will be compassionate in trying to understand your situation and when discussing any way we can help.

You can choose to have us deal with your financial counsellor or representative

162. If we are working with you to help you respond to financial difficulties, then you can tell us to deal with your financial counsellor or representative — rather than dealing with you. To do this, you will need to give us their contact details in writing.

163. However, we may still deal with you directly in the following situations: a) if you ask us to; b) if we have made reasonable attempts to contact, or deal with, your financial counsellor or representative but we are unsuccessful; or c) if your representative is not a financial counsellor, and i) we reasonably believe the representative is not acting in your best interests; or ii) it is otherwise reasonable to do so in the circumstances.

If we decide to deal with you directly under (b), or (c), we will tell you, and will suggest other free alternatives that may be available to you.

We will respond promptly to you or your representative

164. We will respond promptly to you — or your representative’s — request to discuss your financial difficulties. Our reply will be within the timeframes set by the National Credit Code, if it applies.

CHAPTER 40: We may contact you if you are experiencing financial difficulty

We may contact you if we think you are experiencing difficulty

165. We will employ a range of practices that can identify common indicators of financial difficulty. If we identify that you may be experiencing difficulty paying what you owe under a loan (or are experiencing financial difficulty), then we may contact you to discuss your situation and the options available to help you. We will do this on a case-by-case basis.

166. If we are able to contact you and discuss your situation under paragraph165 and
we offer basic bank accounts, and you are eligible, we will offer this product to you.

CHAPTER 41: We will try to help you if you are experiencing financial difficulty

We will work with you to help you respond to financial difficulty

167. With your co-operation, we will work with you to help you find a sustainable solution to your financial difficulties. Any help we can give will depend on your individual circumstances. We provide help to customers on a case-by-case basis.

We will give you information about our financial difficulty processes

168. We will make information publicly available about our processes for working with customers in financial difficulty.

What we will consider when deciding on assistance options

169. When we are deciding whether, and how, to help you with financial difficulty, we will take into account the information available to us, including information you give us about your financial situation.

Examples of how we may help you if you are experiencing financial difficulty

170. The table on page 47 sets out examples of steps we may be able to take to help you in particular situations.

When we may waive your debt

171. In exceptional circumstances, we may look outside normal processes to find a way to assist you if you are experiencing long term hardship as a result of a material change in circumstances.

172. If you are an individual, we may, at our discretion, reduce or waive your debt if it is an unsecured personal loan or credit card, on a case by case basis and on compassionate grounds, having regard to the following:

1. your individual circumstances;
2. if you are unable to meet your repayments now and in the future;
3. whether the hardship is genuine and being caused by factors outside your control; and
4. our commercial considerations.

We will tell you about the relevant National Credit Code provisions if they apply

173. We will tell you about the hardship provisions of the National Credit Code if they apply to you.

174. We will tell you about your right to make a complaint to our external dispute resolution provider if we do not assist you under the National Credit Code.

We will not require you to access your superannuation

175. We will not require you to access your superannuation to pay any amount you owe us under a loan (unless you

are borrowing for a self-managed superannuation fund). However, you may wish to discuss this option with a financial counsellor. You can also find out more about this from the Department of Human Services, see humanservices.gov.au

Other people who can assist you

176. If you ask us to, we will refer you to financial counselling organisations that may be able to help you. We may also recommend on our own initiative that you seek independent advice from a financial counsellor.

We will tell you about our decision in writing

177. We will tell you in writing:

1. whether we will provide you with help in relation to your financial difficulty; and
2. the reasons for our decision.

178. If we agree to provide you with help in the form of changes to your agreement with us, then we will tell you in writing about the main details of the arrangements, including:

1. the repayments you need to make under the proposed new arrangement;
2. what will happen at the end of the new arrangement; and
3. whether you accepting the proposed new arrangement will have any adverse consequences in relation to banking services or your credit history (for example, an entry in your credit report or cancellation of a banking service).

This does not apply to minor individual instances of help we provide — for example: deferrals, refunds or fee waivers.

CHAPTER 42: When you are in default

We will tell you if we report your default activity to a credit reporting body

179. We will tell you if we report any payment default of yours under your loan to a credit reporting body. You can also independently obtain a copy of your report directly from a credit reporting body.

Charging default interest during drought and natural disasters 

179A.(a)Where you are a farmer and we have provided you with a loan for the purposes of a farming operation, we will not charge default interest (or any fee in lieu of default interest) on that loan during any period that the land you use for that operation is in drought or subject to natural disaster. 

(b) For subparagraph (a) to apply, you may need to tell us about the circumstances, and we will refund any default interest or fees in lieu of default interest which were charged during your default and the drought or other natural disaster. 

CHAPTER 43: When we are recovering a debt

We will comply with debt collection guidelines

180. We will comply with the ACCC’s and ASIC’s Debt Collection Guideline: for Collectors and Creditors.

181. We will comply with the Code of Operation: Recovery of Debts from Department of Human Services Income Support Payments or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Payments.

182. If we sell a debt to another party, we will only choose a party that has agreed to comply with these guidelines.

What we will tell you if we sell your debt to another party and we will not be your contact

183. If we sell your debt to another party, and you will be obliged to pay the debt to that other party, and we will no longer be your contact, we will write to you to let you know and to explain:

1. that we have sold your debt; and
2. who we have sold it to.

We will not sell debt when we are considering your financial situation

184. While either of the following is the case, we will not sell your debt to anyone else if:

1. we are actively considering your financial situation:
   1. under paragraph 167; or
   2. under the hardship variation provisions of the National Credit Code; or
2. you are complying with an arrangement that you and we agreed to after we completed any considerations of the type referred to in this paragraph.

185. However, we may transfer your debt in either of those circumstances if the transfer:

1. is part of a funding arrangement — for example, a securitisation or the issue of covered bonds or similar funding arrangements; or
2. is part of a sale of business or business restructure.

CHAPTER 44: Combining your accounts

We will inform you if we combine or set-off your accounts

186. If we combine or set-off your accounts, including using available funds in one of your accounts to repay a debt you owe us, then we will promptly inform you we have done so.

When we cannot combine your accounts

187. If you have an account that relates to any amounts you owe us under a loan that is regulated by the National Credit Code, then we may not combine that account in any of the following circumstances:

1. while we are actively considering your financial situation under either:
   1. paragraph 167 of this Code; or
   2. under the hardship provisions of the National Credit Code; or
2. while you are complying with an arrangement you have made with us after we have considered your financial situation; or
3. if doing so breaches Code of Operation: Recovery of Debts from Department of Human Services Income Support Payments or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Payments.

188. If we are considering your financial situation in either of the ways referred to in the above paragraph, then we may require that you keep funds in an account until we have decided whether to agree to your request.

CHAPTER 45: Helping with deceased estates

Deceased’s representatives

189. We will treat the deceased person’s representative with respect and compassion and provide clear and accessible information on what you, the deceased’s representative, can do to manage a customer’s account in the event of their death. This information will include:

1. how to notify us of a customer’s death;
2. who has authority to access the customer’s account or loan details;
3. what information we need to verify the identity and authority of that person; and
4. what steps the person authorised needs to take to manage the deceased customer’s accounts, including information about direct debits and recurring payments on those accounts, and we will assist you to manage direct debits and recurring payments in the ways outlined in Chapter 34.

190. Once notified of a customer’s death we will:

1. 1. identify any fees that are for products and services that can no longer be provided, or will not be provided to the deceased’s estate;
   2. stop charging those fees;
   3. if any fees referred to in paragraph (a) have already been charged since the customer’s death – refund those fees; and
   4. act on instructions concerning a deceased ‘s account from a person named in a grant of probate or letters of administration within 14 days of receiving the necessary information.

191. Prior to probate or letters of administration being granted, if we receive a request from a person authorised by a will, a person identified as a next of kin in the death certificate or other official document acceptable to us, or a person who has applied for letters of administration, and on providing a copy of the death certificate, we will, within 14 days of receiving the necessary information:

1. 1. 1. provide access to information about the deceased’s account including relevant ongoing fees; and
      2. receive payment towards a debt owed to us by the deceased.

Joint accounts

192. If you are a joint account holder with a deceased customer, you may continue to operate the account subject to the terms and conditions of the account.