Individuals and small businesses can ask their financial services provider for assistance where, for a short period of time, they are unable to meet their repayments under a credit facility (such as a credit card, personal loan, home loan or business facility). This might include a request to change the repayments under the credit contract for a period of time.

If a financial services provider will not agree to a reasonable request for assistance then the Ombudsman has power to review that decision. In some cases FOS can require a financial services provider to change the terms of a credit contract.

Link: http://fos.org.au/centric/home_page/resolving_disputes/resolving_disputes_about_financial_difficulty.jsp

• Information for consumers in financial difficulty
• Information for consumer representatives and financial services providers about resolving financial difficulty disputes