A financial hardship arrangement is an agreement between a borrower and a lender to adjust the borrower’s loan repayments because something unexpected has happened which has an impact on their ability to make their monthly repayments.
A financial hardship arrangement may be a permanent arrangement (such as a variation to a credit contract) or a temporary arrangement. If you are approved for a financial hardship arrangement, from 1 July 2022, Macquarie may be required to disclose the arrangement and your repayments under it to one or more credit reporting bodies. As a result, your credit report may reflect the following information:
- Financial Hardship Information (FHI) will show that a financial hardship arrangement has been entered into and, if applicable, is continuing
- Repayment History Information (RHI) will show if you have met your obligations under the varied contract or under the temporary arrangement.
NOTE: for a temporary arrangement, FHI is reported for the duration of the agreement and, for a permanent arrangement, FHI is reported only once to show that a variation has been agreed. In each case, the FHI may remain on your Credit Report for a period of 12 months.
Why is Macquarie reporting RHI and FHI?
Repayment history information has been reported by Macquarie since December 2019 in accordance with the Principles of Reciprocity and Data Exchange. From 1 July 2022, Macquarie is required to report RHI and FHI to comply with our comprehensive credit reporting obligations under the Credit Act. For more information please visit CreditSmart
What is the difference between repayment history information and financial hardship information?
Financial hardship information (FHI) shows that you have been approved for a permanent or temporary financial hardship arrangement.
Any FHI reported may remain on your Credit Report for a period of 12 months.
Repayment history information (RHI) is information about whether you have met your consumer credit payment obligations in a particular month. If you are in arrears, it will reflect how long you have been in arrears.
Where there is no financial hardship arrangement, RHI is based on your obligations in your credit contract. Where you enter into a financial hardship arrangement, RHI is based on your obligations in your credit contract as amended (whether temporarily or permanently) by a financial hardship arrangement.
Any RHI reported may remain on your Credit Report for a period of 24 months.
If I enter into a financial hardship arrangement, will this impact my ability to apply for loans with Macquarie in the future?
Seeking financial hardship assistance does not preclude you from applying for credit in the future. If their credit report has financial hardship information, Macquarie may ask for:
- more information about your current situation
- reassurance that you are now okay, or that you can afford a new loan despite your financial hardship. No matter what has happened over the last 12 or 24 months, making your payments on time will improve your credit report.
What are the different types of financial hardship information and how is this reflected on my credit report?
Your credit report will include notation to show that an arrangement has been entered into (or, if applicable, is continuing). It will not include the reason for the arrangement or its details.
There are two different types of financial hardship information that can be included in your credit report, depending on the type of arrangement:
- A reflects a temporary arrangement,
- V reflects a permanent change.
In both cases, the repayment history is based on the new agreed repayments.
When will financial hardship information be reported and how long will it remain on my credit report?
For a temporary arrangement, FHI will generally be reported on a monthly basis until the arrangement expires. For a permanent arrangement, FHI will be reported once to show that a variation has been entered into.
In both cases, it may remain on your credit report for 12 months.
