SUPPORT IN DIFFICULT TIMES

If something unexpected has happened in your life that has affected your ability to meet your financial commitments, you may be eligible for financial hardship assistance. We understand that everyone’s situation is different, but common examples of unexpected events include losing a job, separating from a partner or needing expensive medical treatment.

You can apply for financial hardship assistance on Wisr App. Please allow around 20 to 30 minutes to complete it and the more detail you can give us about your situation, the better. Once your application is submitted, we’ll pause your repayments until you receive a decision. Just note that interest and arrears will continue to accrue during this time. 

The next step is to upload the required documents to support your application. You’ll have 21 days to send us these documents, but the sooner you send them, the sooner we’ll be able to respond. 

We are required to give you an outcome within 21 days of receiving all the requested documents and information from you, but it will usually be much quicker if we have everything we need. Our team will get in touch to discuss your application and work out a tailored solution for you. If you’re not sure if you’re eligible or you have any questions, give our financial assistance team a call on 1800 240 008 or email us at finassist@wisr.com.au.

Most cases of hardship occur because of an increased expense or a decrease in income. After you’ve applied for financial hardship assistance, you’ll need to send us some documents to verify your situation. For example, if you have become unemployed, you may be asked to provide a separation certificate. 

Examples of documents you could provide:

- Letter from your employer

- Letter from Centrelink

- Bank statements showing a reduction of income

- Any other evidence you have to explain your circumstances

As well as the above, you’ll want to have your Loan ID ready. The application form will ask you to list out your income, living expenses and assets and liabilities, so you may also want to write these down in advance.

There are a few different support options available if you’re eligible for hardship assistance. Our financial assistance team will assess your application and work out the best solution for your specific needs. 

Some examples of assistance that you could be offered include:

Temporarily reducing or pausing your repayments 

When your assistance period is over and you’re able to resume regular repayments, you may be able to either:

- Extend your loan term and add any arrears to the loan

- Make higher repayments to repay the arrears over time

Permanently reducing your repayments

You may be able to pay less on your scheduled repayments permanently and extend the term of your loan.

A record of your financial hardship information will be visible on your credit file for 12 months. This means that other lenders and creditors will be able to see that you’ve entered into a financial hardship arrangement.

That said, a financial hardship arrangement is not used in the calculation of your credit scores, so they will be unaffected. 

If you do miss a loan repayment however, a payment default will be added to your credit report and will remain visible for at least 5 years. This is likely to have a negative impact on your credit scores.

If you think you’re going to be unable to make your next payment, it’s really important you get in touch with us as soon as possible so we can find a solution before this happens. You can contact our financial assistance team on 1800 240 008 or finassist@wisr.com.au. Be sure to reference your Loan ID.

The National Debt Helpline is a free service that offers impartial and confidential advice from professional finance counsellors to help you get your finances back on track. You can give them a call on 1800 007 007 during 9.30am to 4.30pm on weekdays, or they have a live chat available until 8pm.

The easiest way to apply for financial hardship assistance with us in on Wisr App. Head to the loans tab, scroll down to the support section and select ‘apply for financial hardship’. From here, we’ll run through the ins and outs of hardship assistance. If you think financial hardship assistance is right for you, you can then go ahead and apply. 

If you don’t currently manage your loan on Wisr App, just download it and create an account using the same email address you used when applying for your Wisr loan.

Can’t download Wisr App? Email finassist@wisr.com.au or call our team on 1800 240 008 and they’ll help you apply.