Everything you might want to know.

A Temporary Hardship Plan (THP) is a 3-month arrangement where we negotiate reduced payments with your unsecured creditors on your behalf. Instead of juggling multiple debts and dealing with collection calls, you make one consolidated payment to Hardship Hub, and we distribute the agreed amounts to each of your creditors.

Any Australian resident experiencing genuine financial hardship can apply. This includes hardship caused by job loss, reduced income, illness, injury, family breakdown, natural disasters, or other unexpected life events. You must have at least one active unsecured debt that you are struggling to repay.

You pay a $49 application fee directly when your plan is built. Once the plan is active, we charge a $2.20 transaction fee each time we send a payment to one of your creditors — taken from your single direct debit before we distribute the rest. Most plans run one payment per creditor per month, so a four-creditor plan sees four transaction fees per month built into the same payment. Skipped months and removed creditors don't incur the fee. There are no hidden fees, exit fees, or penalty charges.

Your online application takes about 15 minutes to complete. Once submitted, we prepare proposals for your creditors and send them through our creditor portal. Creditors have up to 21 days to respond. Once responses are in, you'll have a short window — up to 7 days — to review and sign the final arrangement. Allow a few weeks from submission to first payment.

Applying for a Temporary Hardship Plan doesn't involve a credit check, so your credit file isn't affected by the application itself. Under Australian consumer law, creditors are required to consider hardship applications, and an approved arrangement is generally recorded as a hardship notation rather than as a missed payment — which is far better for your credit than ignoring the debts.

Hardship Hub helps with unsecured debts including credit cards, personal loans, buy now pay later debts, utility bills (electricity, gas, water), and telecommunications bills. We don't deal with Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debts, court-ordered debts, child support, HECS/HELP loans, or secured debts like mortgages or car finance.

Under Australian consumer law and the National Credit Code, creditors are required to consider hardship applications, and many accept because a reduced, kept payment is more useful to them than a missed one. Not every proposal is accepted though — some creditors decline. You'll see each response as it comes in.

If a creditor rejects your request, we'll let you know the reasons given and help you decide next steps — including lodging a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for regulated credit providers, or exploring alternatives. A rejection from one creditor doesn't affect arrangements we've made with your other creditors.

Email complaints@hardshiphub.com.au, call 1300 000 000, or lodge a complaint from inside your portal. We'll acknowledge within one business day and respond in writing within 30 days at most. If you're not satisfied with our response you can escalate for free to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) at afca.org.au or 1800 931 678. Full process at /feedback.

Yes, you can cancel your Temporary Hardship Plan at any time with no exit fees or penalties. If you cancel, your creditors will be notified and your accounts will revert to their standard payment terms. We recommend speaking with us before cancelling so we can discuss your options.

We take data security seriously. All personal and financial information is encrypted in transit and at rest using industry-standard encryption. We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 and never share your information with third parties beyond what is necessary to manage your plan.

As your plan nears completion, we will review your financial situation with you. If you have recovered sufficiently, you can return to normal payment terms with your creditors. If you still need support, we can apply for an extension or explore other options such as a formal debt agreement or referral to a financial counsellor.

No. Once you authorise Hardship Hub to act on your behalf, we handle all communication with your creditors. You don't need to make any phone calls or have any difficult conversations. We keep you informed of progress through your online dashboard and email notifications.