§ Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated · 27 April 2026

1. Agreement to terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Hardship Hub platform and services operated by Hardship Hub Pty Ltd (ACN 695 494 181) (“Hardship Hub”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). By accessing or using our platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use our services.

Hardship Hub provides credit assistance as an authorised representative of Revive Financial Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence number to be confirmed) under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009(Cth). When we propose, negotiate, or settle a hardship arrangement with one of your creditors on your behalf, the contract that binds the licensee is between Revive Financial Pty Ltd and your creditor; Hardship Hub operates the platform and provides the consumer-facing service under Revive Financial’s authority. Our Financial Services Guide describes this relationship in more detail, and an account-specific Letter of Authority is issued for each participating creditor when your plan is established.

2. Our services

Hardship Hub provides a platform for managing financial hardship through Temporary Hardship Plans (THPs). Our services include:

  • Assessing your financial situation and calculating an affordable proposed payment plan — this assessment is for the sole purpose of sizing your plan and is not personal financial advice.
  • Proposing hardship arrangements to your creditors on your behalf, and negotiating in good faith — acceptance is at each creditor’s discretion (see section 7).
  • Collecting your consolidated monthly payment and distributing agreed amounts to participating creditors.
  • Providing you with a dashboard to monitor your plan and payments.

3. Eligibility

To use our services, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Be an Australian resident.
  • Be experiencing genuine short-term financial hardship and have one or more unsecured consumer debts you are struggling to meet.
  • Provide accurate and complete information in your application.
  • Authorise Hardship Hub to act on your behalf in communications with creditors.

3.1 Debts we don’t cover

Our service does not cover:

  • Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debts.
  • Court-ordered debts or fines.
  • Child-support obligations.
  • HECS / HELP loans.
  • Secured debts (such as mortgages or car finance).

If you need help with these, a free financial counsellor at the National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007) can point you to the right service.

4. Fees

4.1 Application fee

A one-time application fee of $49 (inc. GST) is payable by you directly when your Temporary Hardship Plan is established. This covers the assessment of your financial situation, preparation of your plan, and the first round of proposals sent to your creditors.

4.2 Transaction fee

A transaction fee of $2.20 (inc. GST) is payable per disbursement we make to a participating creditor under your plan. The fee is only incurred when a payment is actually sent: skipped months, paused plans, and creditors who reject a proposal or are otherwise removed from the plan do not incur the fee. Most plans run one disbursement per creditor per month, so a four-creditor plan typically incurs four transaction fees per month.

4.3 Payment of fees

Your $49 application fee is paid by you directly by card or direct debit through our upfront-payment processor, Stripe. Each $2.20 transaction fee is deducted from your consolidated Temporary Hardship Plan payment (collected by Zai, our direct-debit and distribution processor) at the time of disbursement, before the remainder is distributed to the receiving creditor — meaning the creditor’s share for that month is reduced by $2.20 rather than you paying the fee separately. All fees are clearly disclosed before you confirm your plan. No hidden fees, no exit fees, no penalty charges.

4.4 Refunds

The application fee is refundable if: (a) we are unable to contact any of your creditors; (b) we determine after assessment that we cannot offer you a plan; or (c) you withdraw in writing before we have sent any proposal to a creditor on your behalf. Once a proposal has been sent to at least one creditor, the application fee is non-refundable because the work it covers has been done.

5. Direct debit and payments

5.1 Authorisation

By signing the Direct Debit Request (DDR) inside your portal, you authorise Hardship Hub and our payment processors to debit the nominated bank account or card for (a) the $49 application fee on the date shown in your Service Agreement (processed by Stripe), and (b) your agreed monthly Temporary Hardship Plan payment for the duration of the plan (processed by Zai). The authorisation operates on the terms set out in the DDR Service Agreement we provide to you at the time of signing, which forms part of your agreement with us under the BECS framework. Your bank details are handled by our payment processors and are not stored on Hardship Hub systems.

5.2 Clearing delay

Direct debits may take up to 4 business days to clear. Your plan does not progress to creditor submission until the application fee has cleared. We’ll keep you informed at each stage via your portal and email.

5.3 Failed payments

If a scheduled direct debit fails (for example, because of insufficient funds), our payment processor will automatically retry within 2 to 4 business days. You may be charged a dishonour fee by your bank — Hardship Hub does not charge additional fees for failed debits. If a retry also fails, we’ll contact you to discuss options.

5.4 Plan termination for non-payment

If two consecutive scheduled payments fail without a workable alternative being agreed with us, your Temporary Hardship Plan may be terminated. On termination, your participating creditors will be notified, your accounts will revert to their standard terms, and Hardship Hub will have no further obligation to manage payments on your behalf. You remain liable to your creditors for any amounts outstanding.

5.5 Your responsibility

You’re responsible for ensuring sufficient funds are available in your nominated account on each scheduled debit date. If your circumstances change and you can no longer meet your agreed payment, contact us before the next scheduled date so we can discuss adjusting the plan.

6. Your obligations

By using our services, you agree to:

  • Provide truthful, accurate, and complete information about your financial situation.
  • Notify us promptly of changes to your circumstances, contact details, or employment.
  • Notify us promptly if you enter (or intend to enter) bankruptcy, a Part IX debt agreement, or any other formal insolvency arrangement — we will pause or end our service so it does not conflict with that process.
  • Make your consolidated payments on time as agreed in your plan.
  • Not use our services for any fraudulent, illegal, or unauthorised purpose.
  • Cooperate with reasonable requests for additional information or documentation.

7. Limitations of our service

You acknowledge and agree that:

  • Hardship Hub is not a financial adviser, financial counsellor, credit provider, or legal practitioner. Our service is limited to hardship plan management and creditor negotiation.
  • We cannot guarantee that any creditor will accept a hardship arrangement. Creditor acceptance is at their discretion, subject to applicable laws.
  • A Temporary Hardship Plan does not extinguish, reduce, or forgive your debts. It is a temporary arrangement for reduced payments.
  • Entering a Temporary Hardship Plan does not itself change how your creditors report your accounts to credit reporting bodies. Creditors report under Part IIIA of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and missed or reduced payments during your plan may continue to be reflected in your credit file.
  • We do not provide tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional regarding any tax implications.
  • If you need ongoing assistance beyond a plan, we may refer you to a financial counsellor or other appropriate professional. Free, independent financial counselling is available from the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

8. Cancellation

8.1 Cancellation by you

You may cancel your Temporary Hardship Plan at any time by contacting us. No exit fees or cancellation penalties. On cancellation, creditors are notified and accounts revert to their standard payment terms.

8.2 Cancellation by us

We may cancel your plan with 14 days’ written notice if you breach these Terms, or immediately (on notice) if you fail to make agreed payments (see section 5.4), provide false or misleading information, or use the service fraudulently.

9. Sub-contracting

We may engage contractors or service providers to help us deliver the service (for example, payment processors, identity verification, hosting, email). We remain responsible to you for the service regardless of who performs the underlying work.

10. Intellectual property

All content, designs, trademarks, and intellectual property on the Hardship Hub platform are owned by or licensed to Hardship Hub Pty Ltd. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without our written permission.

11. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, and except for the carve-outs in section 11.1, Hardship Hub will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses resulting from:

  • Your use of or inability to use our services.
  • A creditor’s decision to accept or reject a hardship arrangement.
  • Any unauthorised access to or alteration of your data.
  • Any third-party conduct or content on our platform.

11.1 Carve-outs

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for:

  • Death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
  • Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
  • Wilful misconduct or recklessness.
  • Any right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law (including the consumer guarantees) that cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified by contract.

12. Dispute resolution

If you have a complaint about Hardship Hub, our Feedback & Complaintspage sets out how to raise it, our commitment to acknowledge within 1 business day and respond in writing within 30 days, and how to escalate for free to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) if you’re not satisfied with our response.

13. Privacy

Your use of our services is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information, including how your information is handled by our overseas service providers (APP 8).

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. For any change that materially affects your rights or obligations (including changes to fees, cancellation rights, or scope of service), we will give you at least 30 days’ written notice before the change takes effect. If you do not accept the change, you may cancel your plan at any time before the change takes effect with no exit fee, no cancellation penalty, and no pro-rata fee clawback — creditors will be notified and your accounts will revert to their standard terms. Changes that do not materially affect your rights or obligations (typos, clarifications, administrative updates) take effect when we post the updated Terms with a revised last-updated date.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New South Wales, Australia. You and Hardship Hub submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and the federal courts of Australia.

16. Contact