Experiencing financial difficulty?
We understand life can change unexpectedly. A significant change in income, a change in your relationship, illness, or an emergency can affect your ability to make your home loan repayments for a period of time.
If you're experiencing financial difficulty, get in touch with us as soon as possible. Once we understand your situation, you may have more options than you realise. Reaching out early gives you more time and knowledge to make your decisions. We have a dedicated team here to help.
How we can help
Our financial hardship assistance program has helped lots of customers through difficult times. Depending on your situation, we may be able to
- temporarily reduce or defer your loan repayments,
- capitalise existing arrears, or
- restructure your loan contract.
We look at every situation on a case-by-case basis and assess your individual circumstances and needs.
How to apply
You can apply for financial hardship assistance in a few ways. We recommend registering online, but you can also call or email us.
The more information you provide, the better we can assess what assistance may be best for you. We'll respond as soon as we can, and we appreciate your patience as we work to respond to each customer.
Register online
You can Log in and complete the hardship application form online. You'll need your User Id to log in. If you don't know your User Id, don't worry. Click on Forgot your User Id on the next screen. Enter the mobile number associated with your Keystart account, and we'll send it to you.
Call us
If your financial difficulty is expected to last less than 30 days, give us a call on 1300 578 278.
Keystart participates in comprehensive credit reporting (CCR). We exchange specific credit information about individual credit activities with credit reporting bodies. If you enter into an agreed financial hardship arrangement with Keystart, this will be reported on your credit file as financial hardship information. For more information on this and how this affects you, you can call us on 1300 578 278, read more on our website or visit the CreditSmart website.
Other support available
Financial coaching
We offer eligible customers a unique financial coaching service provided by our partner, the Financial Wellbeing Collective. This service is designed to support you if you have some financial concerns and want to build your money management skills. Financial coaching is a one-on-one coaching service to help people set financial goals and learn ways to achieve them.
Read more about financial coaching
Confidential customer assistance program
Through our partnership with Relationships Australia (WA), we offer a free service to support customers facing difficulties. You can access up to five free sessions with a professionally trained counsellor, who will help you identify, understand, and gain new perspectives on the issues concerning you in a supportive, respectful, and confidential environment.
Matters discussed may include couple issues, relationship breakdown, parenting, domestic violence, anxiety and depression, grief and loss, trauma, stress, and conflict, including work-related issues.
Call us on 1300 578 278 or email customer@keystart.com.au to set up a confidential appointment.
Relationships Australia (WA) also runs online workshops and courses.
Financial counselling
Financial counsellors are qualified professionals who offer independent and confidential support at no cost. They can help with bills or fines you are struggling to pay, debt collectors, disconnected utilities, uninsured car accidents and tax debts.
A financial counsellor will guide you through your options. They can speak to your creditors about repayment arrangements, check whether you are eligible for government concessions, help you apply for a hardship variation, explain the risks of bankruptcy and debt agreements, and refer you to other services such as legal aid, family support or a gambling helpline.
If you are seeking the assistance of a financial counsellor, you can contact the Financial Counsellors Association of WA.
Support beyond your home loan
Your situation may involve more than your home loan. There are free, confidential and independent services available for family and domestic violence, crisis support, housing and help with household bills.
What's different about financial advice?
Financial advice is provided by a financial adviser, sometimes called a financial planner. A financial adviser is a person or an authorised representative of an organisation licensed by ASIC.
Financial advisers must hold an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence and can advise on investing, superannuation, retirement and estate planning, risk management, insurance, and taxation. A good financial adviser works with you to understand your needs, set short- and long-term goals, and create a plan to reach them.
A financial adviser charges a fee for their services. You can ask for the fee structure and a copy of their Financial Services Guide before deciding to see an adviser. This guide will help you compare different providers and their fees.
MoneySmart has some very useful information on choosing a financial adviser.
Free financial coaching service
Find out your money personality