Financial Hardship Policy

Payment Assistance Policy – Summary

1. Battling to pay your telco bill?

If you’re a financial hardship customer, you have a right to apply for short-term financial hardship assistance (up to three billing cycles) or long-term assistance (more than three billing cycles).  Assistance is free of charge.

2. What counts as financial hardship?

Financial hardship is when you can’t pay what you owe us because of things like:

• personal or household illness;
• unemployment;
• low or insufficient income, including reduced access to income;
• being a victim-survivor of domestic or family violence;
• a death in the family;
• a change in personal or family circumstances;
• a natural disaster;
• unexpected events or unforeseen changes that have impacted your income or expenditure; or
• other reasonable causes,

but you think you could pay if we had an agreed arrangement for one or more of the financial hardship assistance options we offer.

3. What assistance options do we offer?

If you’re a financial hardship customer, we may agree to:

• allow you more time to pay a bill
• accept a payment plan tailored to your ability to pay
• put restrictions on your service
• remove non-essential service features, without any cost penalty to you
• transfer you to a different product that better suits your circumstances
• offer you a free non-automatic payment method.

4. How to apply for assistance

• Apply by filling out an application form, available online on this page or by calling our help desk on 1300 759 637 or emailing us at financialhardship@contact.skymesh.com.au;
• If you need help with an application, just call our help desk.

5. You can complain about financial hardship matters

• You can complain to us – see our Complaint Handling Process here.
• If you’re still not happy, you can complain to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO):
  
  
  • TIO website: com.au
  • phone 1800 062 058
  • email tio@tio.com.au
  • fax 1800 630 614
  • post PO Box 276, Collins Street West, VIC 8007

6. Other places to get help

You can also get information and advice from:

• TIO – details above; and
• financial counselling services. To find and contact a suitable financial counselling service, visit the Australian Government information page at moneysmart.gov.au/managing-debt/financial-counselling