Financial Hardship And Money Worries

HSBC AU
Help
Financial Hardship

Are you struggling to make repayments?

Life can bring all of us unexpected challenges. You’re not alone if you're worried about money. If you're concerned about missing a repayment or making your repayments going forward, get in touch right away. We can help you find a solution.

Get help apply for online

Take me straight to

How we can help you
What happens next
Get in touch now
Other free financial counselling and support resources
Hardship and credit reporting

How we can help you

We understand that financial difficulties can be temporary or longer term. That’s why we have a range of options to help you get back on track.

We may be able to help you with:

Lower payments for a period of time
Payment breaks when you need breathing space
Extended payment terms to make repayments more manageable
Interest adjustments to reduce your repayment burden
Flexible arrangements tailored to your situation

Your privacy matters to us.

All conversations are confidential and our team members are trained to handle your situation with care and understanding.

Asking us for help won’t affect your credit score or your ability to borrow in future.

Financial counsellors are qualified professionals who provide free information, advice and advocacy to people in financial difficulty.

If we're working with you to find the right solution for your situation, you can tell us to deal with your financial counsellor or representative, rather than dealing with you directly. You will need to give us your counsellor's contact details verbally or in writing.

We will respond promptly to your representative’s request to discuss the circumstances surrounding your financial difficulties. However, even if you've asked us to deal with your financial counsellor or representative, we may need to deal with you directly again in certain situations (such as if we've made reasonable attempts to contact your representative without success).

If you ask us to, and where appropriate, we'll refer you to financial counselling organisations that may be able to help you.

We may also recommend that you seek independent advice from a financial counsellor. If you would like us to deal with a third party, you should contact us and discuss the process.

What happens next?

We’ll listen

We’ll talk through your situation, to get a clear picture what’s happening in your life. This conversation is confidential and judgement-free.

We’ll explore options together

Keeping your circumstances in mind, we’ll discuss what support we can offer and find an arrangement that works for you.

We’ll confirm everything in writing

We will provide an outcome in writing to your application for hardship assistance within 21 days.

If we have asked for more information to support your application we will provide an outcome in writing within 21 days of the information having been provided.

During this process

We won't take any action to collect any sums you may owe us
You’ll be treated with respect and sensitivity

We’ll give genuine consideration to your request for help, regardless of your loan amount or repayment history.

Our Customer Assist Team will call you within 7 days to discuss your application.

We'll respond in writing to your application within 21 days of receiving it.

In our written response, we'll either let you know our decision on your hardship request or we'll ask for more information. We may need to know more to help us understand your financial situation better.

When we're deciding whether to offer you financial hardship assistance, we'll take into account all the information available to us, including what you tell us about your financial situation. If HSBC can't approve your hardship request and you disagree with this outcome, you can complain to our Customer Relations team. You also have the right to complain to an external dispute resolution service, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is a free and independent ombudsman service that resolves complaints by consumers and small businesses about financial firms.

Get in touch now

Apply for help

The sooner you get in touch, the more we can help. Our Customer Assist team specialises in helping customers through financial difficulties. They will take the time to understand your situation and work with you to find a solution.

You can apply for help online quickly and easily, or contact us in other ways if you prefer. The online application service is available between 6am and midnight AEST/AEDT.

You'll need to log on to HSBC Online Banking or the HSBC Australia app to apply. If you're applying through the app, you'll be directed to log on to HSBC Online Banking through your web browser.

To apply online, please allow pop-ups and redirects in your browser settings, as this will open a new tab.

Get started online click to open get started This link will open in a new window

Call us

You can call us from 8am to 7pm (AEST/AEDT), Monday to Friday.

From within Australia:

1300 555 988

From overseas:

+61 2 8661 1902

Send us a brief description of your situation and a completed Statement of Financial Position (PDF).

Email us at customerassist@hsbc.com.au or send a letter to:

HSBC Bank

Customer Assist

GPO Box 5302

Sydney NSW 2001

You can also visit your nearest HSBC branch and our staff will connect you with our specialist team.

Hearing or speech impaired?

If you are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech communication difficulty, you can contact HSBC Australia through the National Relay Service (NRS), and give them our number: 1300 555 988.

You'll need to be an Australian resident and have registered with NRS before you can use the service. International call charges will apply if you call NRS from overseas.

Interpreter services

If English is not your first language, we can help. When you call us or visit a branch, just say "I need an interpreter". If there isn’t a staff member who can speak the language you prefer, we’ll connect you to our free telephone-based interpreter service. It covers over 150 languages, so we’ll usually be able to talk with you in your language.

Other free financial counselling and support resources

We produce some guides that explain financial hardship. There is our standard hardship guide (PDF) as well as an easy-to-read hardship guide (PDF).

There are also many resources available from other organisations:

National Debt Helpline – a not-for-profit that helps people tackle debt
MoneySmart – an Australian government website that provides information and education on a range of money topics
CreditSmart – a site run by the Australian Retail Credit Association (ARCA) with information and education on credit products like loans and credit cards
Financial assistance hub – the Australian Banking Association (ABA) has put together useful information for people experiencing financial difficulties
Personal crisis support – the Australian Tax Office (ATO) provides information and links to additional resources
Way Forward Debt Solutions – a not-for-profit that helps people in financial hardship

Hardship and credit reporting

Australia operates a comprehensive credit reporting system. Banks, credit unions and licensed finance companies share information about their customers’ credit accounts (including home loans, credit cards, permanent overdraft accounts, personal loans and car loans) with credit reporting bodies, who consolidate this information into a credit report.

Find out more about how credit reporting may affect you.

Asking us for help with your financial situation won’t impact your credit score and doesn't prevent you from applying for credit in the future. We want to help you avoid missed payments that could affect your credit report.

Late payments will be recorded in your credit report in the repayment history. Getting back up to date as soon as you can will help improve your credit report.

If you're experiencing financial difficulties, talk to us about entering into a financial hardship arrangement, as this could help to protect your credit report.

Late payments and credit reporting (PDF)

Late payments and credit reporting (Easy Read) (PDF)

Under these financial hardship arrangements, your repayment history will show you’ve met your obligations as long as you make the reduced payments on time.

This protects your credit report while you are in financial hardship. Financial hardship information does not stop you applying for credit in the future. It can't be used in calculating your credit score, and will come off your credit report after 12 months.

Temporary financial hardship arrangements and credit reporting (PDF)

Temporary financial hardship arrangements and credit reporting (Easy Read) (PDF)

Variation financial hardship arrangements and credit reporting (PDF)

Variation financial hardship arrangements (Easy Read) (PDF)

Money worries and financial hardship

Are you struggling to make repayments?

Take me straight to

How we can help you

Can a third party like a financial counsellor help me?

What happens next?

What will happen after I've submitted my financial hardship assistance request?

Get in touch now

Apply for help

Call us

Other ways to apply

Special services available for you

Other free financial counselling and support resources

Hardship and credit reporting

Will asking for help affect my credit score?

How do late payments affect my credit report?

How do temporary financial hardship and variation financial hardship arrangements affect my credit report?

You might also be interested in

Extra care

Credit reporting

Financial difficulty FAQs