Free, confidential help is available.
Financial difficulty
A flood, fire or storm can impact your financial situation. Your provider should work with you to keep you connected and offer you help with financial hardship.
TIPS
How you can work with your provider when a disaster impacts your how much you can pay
Tell your provider you’re having trouble paying because of the disaster and ask for help
Tell them what you can afford
Ask them to tell you about options in their financial hardship policy
Keep a record of what you asked for and what they said
OUR EXPECTATIONS
What we expect your provider to do
If a disaster has affected your finances, your provider should:
Offer you hardship help
Your provider should share their financial hardship policy and work through options with you.
Keep you connected
Your provider should keep your service connected while you arrange a payment plan.
Be flexible
Your provider should offer options that suit you, like payment plans or waiving fees.
Be proactive after a natural disaster
Your provider should make their hardship help easy to find and apply for.
Ready to make a complaint?
10-20 minutes
OUR CONSIDERATIONS
We look at what you told your provider, how they responded and whether they treated you fairly.
What your provider did when you asked for help
If they offered options that suit your situation
If your provider kept your service on
If they treated you fairly
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
Depending on your issue, we may ask your provider to...
Set up a payment plan
Offer you a payment plan that suits what you can afford.
Provide extensions
Give you more time to pay bills.
Reduce or waive charges
Remove late payment fees where due dates fall during a natural disaster.
Keep you connected
Keep your service on or reconnect you.
Get more support
MoneySmart
An Australian Government service here to help when it comes to making informed choices around money, using free tools, tips and calculators.
Visit moneysmart.gov.au
How we've helped others
Read more about Sandra was left without a vital phone service after satellite service failures- Natural disaster
Sandra was left without a vital phone service after satellite service failures
When a satellite phone service failed in a remote community prone to flooding, Sandra was left without reliable access to healthcare, emergency services and essential communications.
Read more about Kelly was unable to receive emergency notifications during a bushfire- Natural disaster
Kelly was unable to receive emergency notifications during a bushfire
When bushfires threatened her community, Kelly's mobile service became unreliable, leaving her unable to depend on emergency notifications and essential communications.
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Read more about Sandra was left without a vital phone service after satellite service failures
- Natural disaster
Sandra was left without a vital phone service after satellite service failures
When a satellite phone service failed in a remote community prone to flooding, Sandra was left without reliable access to healthcare, emergency services and essential communications.
-
Read more about Kelly was unable to receive emergency notifications during a bushfire
- Natural disaster
Kelly was unable to receive emergency notifications during a bushfire
When bushfires threatened her community, Kelly's mobile service became unreliable, leaving her unable to depend on emergency notifications and essential communications.