Ordinary Australians are being forced to seek help from charities as they struggle to feed and house themselves during the cost of living crisis, leaving many “embarrassed” and “apologetic”. Salvation Army frontline workers have reported a surge in the number of people accessing their services for the first time asContinue Reading
Australians struggling to pay their phone and internet bills have been thrown a lifeline, with new rules to make it mandatory for telcos to do more to provide financial hardship assistance. An Australian Communications and Media Authority report from last year found 2.4 million Australian adults had experienced financial difficultyContinue Reading
The corporate watchdog has taken Westpac to court after it failed to respond to customers suffering from financial hardship. Westpac could face millions in fines after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched civil penalty proceedings against the bank after 229 customers did not receive a response to aContinue Reading
West Australians experiencing financial hardship will be able to access free power under a new state government scheme. Under the Community Energy program, announced on Monday, Synergy customers on financial hardship plans will not be charged for electricity used during non-peak times – 9am to 3pm – up to theContinue Reading
The telecommunications industry has continually let down customers facing financial hardship, according to a new report. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has urged telcos including Optus and Telstra to improve on their support for customers in financial difficulty. The authority’s report found that almost 2.4 million Australians hadContinue Reading
Westpac has made a surprise call on interest rates – lowering its forecast that the cash rate will be hiked as high as 4.1 per cent. Instead, the major bank has predicted interest rates will peak at 3.85 per cent and that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will evenContinue Reading
Catherine* and her partner were “scrambling” to cover the cost of groceries with a newborn baby and racked up thousands in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) debt to “stay afloat”. But when they couldn’t pay the money back they said the “ruthless” providers pursued them hard. The 40-year-old said sheContinue Reading