Financial Hardship or Difficulty

Are you experiencing financial difficulty or hardship?

Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan, and no one knows this better than those involved with farming and agriculture. There can be times when you want to meet your financial obligations, but for reasons beyond your control, you just can’t for a period of time.

If you’re experiencing financial difficulty or foresee headwinds that will make it difficult for you to meet your financial obligations, you or your representative should contact us as soon as possible. We understand that reaching out for help can be hard, but we are here to support you to find a sustainable solution to your financial situation.

Contact Us

Farm Business Customers

• Phone 1800 025 484 Mon-Fri 6am-8pm (Sydney time) or call your local area manager.  If you’re calling from overseas dial +61 2 8115 2240.
• Email: Sydney.client.services@rabobank.com
• Call, visit your local branch or speak directly to your Rural Manager.  Often a discussion with a Rabobank team member who is familiar with your business can provide a suitable solution.  If you are not satisfied or are uncomfortable addressing your financial difficulty or hardship with your local branch you can ask to speak to your Area Manager on 1300 303 033.

If you are uncomfortable speaking with someone simply complete a Request for financial Assistance Form and email it to Sydney.client.services@rabobank.com .

Small Business Defaults

If you are a Small Business and you are in Default, Rabobank will inform you if we report any payment Default of yours under your Loan to a credit reporting body.

You can also independently obtain a copy of your report directly from a credit reporting body. However, not all credit reporting bodies may offer such reports, and they may charge fees for accessing reports. More details available on the OAIC website, available here.

Solution Assessment

Once notified we will work with you to help you find a sustainable solution.

Rabobank can work with you, or your authorised representative to determine how we can help. To understand the arrangements that may best suit your situation, we encourage you to speak with our call centre or your relationship manager early, honestly, and openly so we can work together to explore a sustainable solution to your situation. We will always protect your privacy.

Potential Option include:

• Waiving certain fees and charges
• Reducing payments or a temporary payment deferral for an agreed period
• Waiving break costs on early redemption of Rabobank Australia Limited issued deposits
• Restructuring loans
• Changing the terms of the loan
• Allowing time to sell one or more assets
• Providing information about insolvency arrangements
• Offering a low fee/ no fee product for low or no income earners.

Authorising a Trusted third party to represent you.

If circumstances determine that you would like someone other than yourself to represent you, or a joint account holder to speak on your behalf, please call or send us an email providing authorisation of a third-party.  

You may choose to authorise a third-party such as a family member, accountant, solicitor, financial advisor, or someone else that you trust to liaise with Rabobank on your behalf.

Financial Counsellors  

If you are using a Financial Counsellor and would prefer Rabobank to discuss your situation with them directly on your behalf, please let us know.  To provide authorisation, the Financial Counsellor will need to send or email Rabobank the following completed documents:

• Financial Counsellor Cover Letter (click here for the template) - to be completed by the Financial Counsellor.
• Financial Counselling Agency Authorisation Form – signed by you as the account holder.

Rural Financial Counselling Service

Is a free and confidential service in place to support the agricultural sector to regain control of their financial position.

You can find your local Rural Financial Counselling Service on the following link https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/drought/rural-financial-counselling-service.

Support is available for Rabobank Online Savings customers through the National Debt Hotline. You can talk to a free and independent financial counsellor from anywhere within Australia. Contact Details: Tel: 1800 007 007.

Additional Assistance and Information

• Australian Banking Association Financial Assistance Hub
• Financial Counselling Australia Website
• National Debt Helpline
• DoingitTough - The Australian Bankers Association website provides information about financial hardship including how to identify if you’re experiencing financial hardship, how to apply for hardship assistance and tips to help you manage your money.
• Banking Code of Practice - Outlines your rights if you are experiencing financial difficulties with your credit facility. Rabobank Australia Limited subscribes to the code.
• MoneySmart.gov - ASIC’s MoneySmart provides valuable information on a wide range of financial topics and calculators.
• Credit reporting - The Australian Government Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Australian privacy laws have strict rules about how credit providers and credit reporting bodies must handle your personal information. You can request a free copy of your credit report to check what information has been recorded.

Australian Government Assistance

The Australian Government offers support to farm families, farm businesses and rural communities to prepare for, manage through and recover from drought and other hardship.

For further information and support

• Drought
• Disaster Relief
• Farm Household Assistance
• Farmer Assistance Hotline

Repayment History

Rabobank can list information about your repayment history on your credit report, including whether you have made payments on time or missed any payments.

This information appears as a number (from 0 to 7) showing the age, in months, of your oldest missed payment and remains on your credit report for 2 years.

Any financial hardship information related to a financial hardship arrangement is recorded against your repayment history information and remains on your credit report for one year.

You are considered to have missed a payment if you make the payment more than 14 days after the due date.

Rabobank isn’t required to send you a written notice before listing a missed payment on your credit report.

Defaults

Rabobank can list a default on your credit report if:

• The payment has been overdue for at least 60 days.
• The overdue payment is equal to or more than $150.
• A notice has been sent to your last known address to inform you about the overdue payment and request payment.
• A second notice was sent at least 30 days later to inform you that if you don’t make a payment, Rabobank intends to disclose the information to a credit reporting body.
• Rabobank must wait at least 14 days after issuing the second notice before listing the default.
• Rabobank can’t wait more than 3 months after issuing you the second notice to list the default.
• Rabobank is considered to have complied with the notice requirements if they can show that it was sent to your last known address. They may email the notices if that's the usual way they communicate with you.
• If Rabobank mistakenly sent the notices to an old address that was not your last known address, the default listing may not be valid. However, if they sent the notices to an old address because you failed to update your contact details, Rabobank is likely to have met the notice requirements.
• If you paid the overdue amount after Rabobank listed the default, the listing remains on your credit report, but Rabobank will update it to show the payment was made.

Hardship Assistance

If you request hardship assistance, Rabobank isn’t allowed to list a default on your credit report:

• While they are in the process of deciding the hardship request.
• Until 14 days after they have informed you of their decision to refuse your request.
• However, Rabobank may list a default if they reasonably believe that you made the hardship request on the same basis as a hardship request you made during the previous 4 months.