If you’re finding it difficult to keep up with your loan repayments, we’re here to help.
Financial difficulty can happen for many reasons, including illness, injury, unemployment, reduced income, relationship breakdown, family or domestic violence, natural disasters, business disruption or other unexpected life events.
We encourage you to contact us as early as possible, even if you haven’t missed a repayment yet. The sooner we understand your situation; the sooner we can work with you to explore support options.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 000.
Everyone’s circumstances are different. If you’re experiencing financial difficulty, vulnerability or specific communication needs, Brighten will take the time to understand your situation and work with you on a solution that is appropriate for your circumstances.
Depending on your situation, support may include:
Some arrangements may increase the total interest payable over the life of your loan. We’ll explain any potential impacts so you can make an informed decision.
You can also let us know if you have additional needs or vulnerabilities, such as illness, disability, mental health concerns, family or domestic violence, financial abuse, language barriers, cognitive impairment or difficulty communicating with us. We’ll handle your information with care and confidentiality.
When you contact us, we’ll ask some questions to understand what has changed and how we may be able to help.
We may discuss:
Brighten will respond to your hardship request within the required timeframes. We will respond to your initial request within 72 hours and will provide a final decision about your hardship request within 21 days of receiving all required financial hardship information.
If we need more information, we’ll explain what we need and why. If we can’t agree to your request, we’ll explain the reason and let you know what options are available.
The information we need will depend on your circumstances. We’ll only ask for information that helps us assess your situation and work out what support may be suitable. If you’re unable to access or provide certain documents, please let us know and we will work with you to find another way to assess your request.
The information we need may include:
We understand that some situations can make it difficult to provide documents straight away. Please contact us as early as possible so we can explain what we need and discuss the support options available.
We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different. If you’re experiencing financial difficulty or have specific communication needs, we’re here to support you in a way that works best for you.
You can access the services below at no cost.
We’ll work with you to find a safe way to communicate and explore support options.
If you use Auslan, you can arrange an interpreter to support your conversation with us.
Phone: 1800 246 945
Email: [email protected]
SMS: 0409 143 980
Website: nabs.org.au
If English is not your first language, you can use the Translating and Interpreting Service to speak with us in your preferred language.
Phone: 131 450
Available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
How it works:
If you are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, you can contact us through the National Relay Service.
Relay: 1300 555 727
TTY: 133 677
SMS Relay: 0423 677 767
Online services: National Relay Service options
The NRS provides phone and online relay options for people who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty speaking.
How it works:
You can ask someone you trust to support you when speaking with us. This may be a family member, friend, carer, financial counsellor, lawyer, community worker or other representative.
You can also nominate someone to speak with us on your behalf.
To nominate someone to speak to us on your behalf, please complete the form linked below and email it to [email protected]
If you’re experiencing family or domestic violence, including financial abuse, you’re not alone. We’ll treat your situation with care, sensitivity and confidentiality.
You can tell us if:
We’ll work with you to find a safe way to communicate and explore support options.
1800RESPECT – National Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Support Service
Phone: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732
Website: 1800respect.org.au
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone and online chat.
1800RESPECT can help with:
If you are in immediate danger, please call 000.
You may also wish to speak with a free, independent financial counsellor. Financial counsellors are not part of Brighten and can help you understand your options.
Phone: 1800 007 007
Website: ndh.org.au
The National Debt Helpline provides free advice from financial counsellors. Phone support is available weekdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm, and live chat is available weekdays from 9:00am to 8:00pm.
They can help you:
Good Shepherd provides support for people on low incomes, including access to no interest loans and financial wellbeing services.
Website: goodshep.org.au
Good Shepherd’s No Interest Loans can help eligible people access safe, affordable credit for essential goods and services.
They may be able to support you with:
If you are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, you can contact us through the National Relay Service.
Voice Relay: 1300 555 727
TTY: 133 677
SMS Relay: 0423 677 767
Online services: National Relay Service options
The NRS provides phone and online relay options for people who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty speaking.
How it works:
Financial difficulty can affect your wellbeing. If you need immediate emotional or crisis support, help is available.
Phone: 13 11 14
Website: lifeline.org.au
Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Phone: 13 92 76
Website: 13yarn.org.au
13YARN provides free, confidential, 24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporters.
