Ways to lower mortgage stress
Home loan relief and financial hardship
First up, don’t worry
Money uncertainty can affect the emotional and physical wellbeing of any homeowner. We’re here to help you find some financial breathing space.
Redraw and offset funds
If you have extra repayments available to redraw, or money in your offset account, you could tap into that.
Talk to us, or your broker
You may be able to reduce your minimum repayments. Or consolidate other debts into your home loan, at the lower home loan rate.
Financial hardship assistance
If you’re still finding it hard to meet your repayments, you may be able to apply for financial hardship assistance anytime. Eligibility criteria apply.
Don’t wait, talk about it
- Whatever your situation – the rising cost of living, a new baby, injury, job loss, a break-up or something else – the sooner you talk with us, the sooner we can help.
- Having a conversation with us won’t affect your credit report or your ability to borrow in the future.
- If you do set up a repayment plan as part of a financial hardship arrangement, this could help protect your credit score and may help your finances recover sooner. As long as you meet the revised repayments, those details only stay on your credit report for one year after the arrangement ends.
‘Your home loan is usually your biggest, most expensive and highest priority debt... You should talk to your lender as soon as possible to discuss your options.'
Feeling overwhelmed?
Book an appointment to speak with a lender about adjusting your loan. For financial hardship relief, call the Westpac Assist team on 1800 067 497, or the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.
Review your situation
Loan affordability
Work out what you can afford to repay. A general rule of thumb is minimum monthly repayments are less than 1/3 of your pre-tax monthly income.
Planning ahead
Think about the short and long-term.
My loan and rate
Whenever life changes, we’re here to review your home loan interest rate and options.
Review some options
Whenever you redraw from your home loan, or withdraw from a linked offset account, it’s important to know you'll end up paying more home loan interest over the life of your loan.
Redraw your extra repayments
If you're ahead on your home loan repayments, these extra funds will show as 'available' funds in your home loan account, and you’re free to redraw them with no redraw fee1.
Withdraw from your linked offset
You have the freedom to withdraw any money sitting in the offset account linked to your Westpac home loan.
More on financial hardship
If you’re still finding it hard to meet your home loan repayments, the sooner you reach out, the sooner one of our friendly Westpac Assist team members can help. Eligibility criteria apply.
Need more help? Call Assist
1800 067 497
Mon-Fri 8:30am-8:00pm,
Sat 9:30am-6pm, Sydney time
Talk with a free financial counsellor
The National Debt Helpline offers you free, independent advice from a financial counsellor to help you get back on your feet. It’s a non-judgemental, not-for-profit service, with dedicated people in each state. They’ll work with you to understand your circumstances, advocate for you and help with any next steps.
Your financial counsellor can also mediate between you and your lender on options like changing to an Interest Only term, repayment plans – and can even apply for financial hardship arrangements on your behalf. Simply contact the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007, from anywhere in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Life’s unpredictable. Events like illness , a change in your relationship and income, or a natural disaster can make it hard to make ends meet. If you’re feeling the pinch and unable to meet your financial commitments, the sooner you tell us, the sooner we can help.
- Missing a payment: book an appointment to speak with a lender, or call 132 558 (8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat-Sun (Sydney time).
- Can’t pay: apply online for financial hardship, or call the Westpac Assist team on 1800 067 497.
3 steps to getting back on track
Things you should know
Conditions, credit criteria, fees and charges apply. Based on Westpac's credit criteria, residential lending is not available for Non-Australian Resident borrowers.
Read the following terms and conditions before making a decision and consider whether the product is right for you: Online Banking Terms and Conditions effective as at 26 August 2018 (PDF 236KB) (PDF 409KB) (PDF 417KB).
1Redraw facility: if you have ‘available funds’ (you’ve made extra home loan repayments) and you’ve activated your redraw facility, you’re free to redraw them with no redraw fee. Up to $100k will be available to redraw from your variable loan online or over the phone each day (unlimited in-branch). For fixed loans you can redraw up to your prepayment threshold during your fixed term. Read our Redraw Authority form (PDF 66KB) (PDF 66KB) for full details.
2Loan repayment options: Conditions apply for all the options listed. Please be aware that:
- Reduced loan repayments: It is important to understand that at the end of the reduced repayment period, the repayment amount will increase to adjust for the reduced repayments. This ensures that the loan is still repaid within its original term. Read the disclosure documents for your selected product or service before deciding if this option is right for you.
- Mortgage repayment pause: It is important to understand that you’ll continue to accrue interest while your repayments are paused. The length of your pause is determined by the amount of extra funds you have in your loan. Read the disclosure documents for your selected product or service before deciding if this option is right for you.
- Switching to interest-only repayments: It is important to understand that interest rates for loans with interest-only repayments are higher. Your repayments will increase at the end of the interest-only period as the amount you’ve borrowed will need to be paid back in a shorter timeframe. This also means you’ll pay more interest over the life of the loan on interest-only repayments than if you’d opted to continue paying principal and interest.
3 Changing repayment amount or frequency: Cannot be performed on an interest-only loan. However, you may make extra repayments. For more details on interest-only home loans.