COVID-19 Financial Assistance Program FAQs

Australian Unity Bank recognises that there are a number of ways in which you may be impacted by the current events, such as:

• Loss of income as a result of being unable to work for a period of time, and/or loss of employment or rental income
• Reduction of income, as a result of the impacts we are experiencing in the economy including impacts to self-employed customers or casual workers
• Inability to work due to illness or isolation due to COVID-19 or having to care for a family member suffering from the COVID-19 virus.

If you have been financially impacted, you may qualify for financial relief assistance, we will ask a few questions to better understand your situation and whether you are eligible

Depending on your individual circumstances and level of impact there are a number of financial assistance options available to you.  These may include:

• The ability to pause repayments on loans, for up to six months (which may include interest capitalisation)
• The ability to reduce or vary your home loan repayments including a period of interest only for up to 6 months;
• The ability to alter a variable loan to part or all fixed loan
• Early access to term deposits without incurring any fees

Customers can contact us on 1300 412 356 or alternatively via email on bankingsupport@australianunity.com.au to discuss and apply for assistance.

Under the standard guidelines we have 21 days to provide you with a response, however we recognise this is a very stressful and uncertain time and as such we will endeavour to provide a response within 48 hours and may be able to confirm assistance immediately over the phone.

Once financial assistance has been approved we will write to the account holder to confirm the details including the type of assistance granted, the period during which it is granted and the changes to your repayments.

No, Australian Unity will not record financial assistance provided under the COVID-19 financial assistance program with a credit reporting agency nor will it adversely impact your standing with the Bank.

You should be mindful that certain changes to your loan will have a financial impact. For example:

• a temporary halt to loan repayments will increase the amount of interest paid and delay the repayment of the loan unless you increase your repayments after the financial assistance period has ended;
• a deferral of interest or payment of the interest only for a period of time will increase the amount of interest paid (particularly if the change results in the capitalisation of interest) and delay repayment of the loan
• a temporary limit increase on credit cards may incur interest if it is not repaid within the usual time limits provided for under the standard terms and conditions.

You should consider the impact of these changes and discuss which is the most appropriate with your financial advisor or contact us for guidance.

We are also keen to ensure that you are able to decide how best to reinstate your position as quickly as possible once the period of financial assistance is over. For example, some of our customers who have deferred payments increase their repayments to enable them to catch up without extending the term of the loan.

We recommend you seek independent financial advice, do your own research and contact us for a further discussion on options and next steps.

You should think carefully about making changes to your loan as some changes, whilst providing temporary relief, will have longer term impacts (such as extending the term of the loan or increasing the amount of interest which you pay over the life of the loan).

We are available to help you understand the impact of those changes on your loan and can work through some examples with you to ensure that you make the decision which suits you best to get you through this particular period. So please contact us on 1300 790 740 or by email at bankingsupport@australianunity.com.au and we will assist you.

In addition there are also a number of other places for you to go to for guidance:

• the ASIC Moneysmart website https://moneysmart.gov.au/ provides free calculators, tips and guidance so you can make informed decisions, manage your finances and plan for the future;
• visit our ‘support for life moments’ site which has more information about other financial assistance support services.;
• please speak to your financial advisor or broker.

Once your financial assistance is in place, we will contact you within 3 months to see how you are managing and whether there is any change in your circumstances or whether you will need further assistance. However, if you are at all concerned or have any questions please contact us and we will certainly discuss how we can help you.

We also strongly recommend that you take advantage of calculators and other tools which are available across the industry to provide insight into the financial effects of changes in repayments and how to repay your loan sooner by adjusting such things as the amount or frequency of repayments. We have our own calculator which you can find on our website at https://www.australianunity.com.au/banking/home-loan-calculators or you can contact us on 1300 790 740 and we will work through some examples for you to consider.  

We also encourage you to visit the ASIC Moneysmart website which provides free calculators, tips and guidance so you can make informed decisions, manage your finances and plan for the future. Please visit the free site and tools available to you at https://moneysmart.gov.au/loans/personal-loan-calculator.

Yes, we strongly recommend that you keep in regular contact with us during the term of the assistance and if your circumstances change for the better the deferral period can be amended. We are keen to help you to return to your original repayment schedule so that you are back on track as much as possible to achieve your goals.

As mentioned we will keep in touch with you and we strongly recommend that you also keep in regular and open contact with us during the term of the assistance. If you do need to speak to us about the options available, we may need to gather more information about your circumstances to ensure that the options we can provide are appropriately suited to you given your overall financial and personal situation. This ensures that our solution is tailored to you.

If your circumstances have not changed we also recommend that you speak to your independent financial advisor for guidance – we will work with you and your advisors if you wish us to so that the most appropriate result is achieved.

Australian Unity is committed to supporting you in any way that we can during these tough times. We welcome the opportunity to speak personally with you to try and resolve your concern.

However on the event that you are not satisfied with our service or decisions, details of our internal dispute process are also available on our website https://www.australianunity.com.au/banking/feedback

You can seek a review of our decision by going to the AFCA scheme by contacting 1800 931 678, www.afca.org.au, info@afca.org.au or by mail to Australian Financial Complaints Authority, GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001. The AFCA scheme is a free and independent service to resolve complaints.