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First Federal Assist

Request hardship assistance with
First Federal Assist

Sometimes life throws us curve balls which can make it difficult to maintain home loan repayments.

Most people feel uncomfortable or are embarrassed to admit to their home loan provider that they are in financial hardship, but it is important to remember that the sooner you talk to us, the sooner our assist team can work with you on a plan to help improve your situation. 

It’s important to note: our Hardship Assistance is not a long-term solution. 
It allows you to access short-term relief while you get through a rough patch, before resuming monthly repayments. 

What is hardship assistance?

You may require financial assistance from First Federal if you are having difficulty meeting your financial obligations (like paying bills or repayments on your loans or credit cards). This can occur for a variety of reasons, including:

  • unemployment or a reduction of income;
  • injury or illness;
  • natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones;
  • medical reasons such as sickness or permanent disability;
  • a death in the family or other significant life event or
  • an increase in other bills or expenditures.

First Federal’s approach to hardship assistance

At First Federal, we are committed to helping our customers who are experiencing financial difficulty wherever possible. We encourage customers to talk to us openly to discuss available options.
We will also be proactive and contact any customers who are identified as possibly experiencing financial difficulty/hardship.

During our discussions, we will ask you questions to understand your particular circumstances, and these will assist us if you want to apply for Hardship assistance. These may include:

  • What happened to put you into your current financial position?
  • What repayments you can make and when?
  • Whether the situation will be long or short term?

We can consider a number of options which are specifically designed to cater for each customer’s changing circumstances. These may include:

  • Repayment holidays
  • Short term reduction of payments
  • Loan variations etc
  • Redraw of funds

Our assist team will work with you to offer a solution that is most suitable for your circumstances based on information you provide us.  

How do I apply for hardship assistance?

First Federal review all hardship applications on a case-by-case basis and we take them very seriously. 

Applying for hardship assistance does not guarantee it will be approved and we may ask for additional information if you don’t provide enough information for us to assess your current situation.

Your request will be treated in the strictest confidence as we work together to find a solution. 

Will my credit report show I have had hardship assistance?

Yes, short term. For more information please see links.

Please note

Free, 100% confidential and independent financial advice is also available to you through the National Debt Hotline on 1800 007 007.