Help & support
Changes in your circumstances can have a serious impact on your finances, and leave you experiencing financial hardship. These can include:
When your financial circumstances change for the worse, it is important that you talk to someone to get help, support and guidance. If you are a business customer who is experiencing difficulty, or might have future difficulty in meeting repayments, you can contact us as follows:
If you require urgent assistance, please indicate this at the time the request for assistance is made.
Our centralised Business Financial Assistance team or your dedicated Relationship Manager will work with you to assess your situation on a case-by-case basis.
If the result of assessment is to approve assistance due to financial difficulty, we will work with you to tailor a suitable plan. We will suggest solutions based on the nature of your financial difficulty (short term, where restoring your financial position is possible in a few months, or long term, where restoring your financial position will take longer than a few months). If your case requires longer term support, we may refer you to one of our specialist teams.
Depending on the nature of your financial difficulty, solutions may include:
The solution will be designed to help you get back on track. It's important to remember that if we agree to temporarily reduce the amount you currently pay, you will still be required to make up the difference in the future.
To enable us to better assess your situation, we may need additional information from you. This will help us with our assessment of your situation, as well as your current and projected financial position.
Depending on your situation, we may ask you to provide any of the following:
We will contact you to let you know about our decision and any next steps. If your request for financial assistance is approved, we'll provide a written response which includes the main details of the new agreement (e.g. repayments you need to make, period of assistance, what happens at the end of the new arrangement).
Most problems can be resolved quickly and simply by talking with us. If you're not satisfied with the support we have provided, you have the right to lodge a complaint with us. Please call us on 1800 805 605 or let us know online.
If you're unhappy with the way we've handled your complaint, you can contact our Customer Advocate or lodge a dispute with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is a free external dispute resolution scheme which provides independent financial services complaint resolution to consumers and small businesses.
For more information, visit www.afca.org.au or call 1800 931 678. It's important to approach AFCA only after you’ve tried to resolve things with us, as AFCA generally won't deal with your dispute unless you’ve first given us the chance to put things right. AFCA will advise you of any complaints it can't consider when you contact them.
We understand dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tough time for many Australians – lockdowns, job and business insecurity, and financial uncertainty are just some of the ways this pandemic has impacted our communities.
We’re here to support you and/or your business, and to help you get back on-track as quickly as possible.
Visit our COVID support page for ways you can request financial support from us.
We are committed to providing prompt responses to our business customers in financial difficulty.
If the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP) applies, we will act in accordance with the timeframes prescribed. For example, if we request further information from you, the National Credit Code (part of the NCCP) requires us to tell you of our decision within 21 days of us receiving this information. We will tell you about the relevant provisions of the National Credit Code if they apply to you.
Yes, for CommBank business customers. However, existing fees and charges for your product(s) may continue to apply.
We assess each financial difficulty request on a case-by-case basis to provide a solution appropriate to your circumstances.
If your request for financial assistance is approved and the terms of your assistance are maintained, further recovery action is suspended.
For business products (e.g. business loan or line of credit), we will not report any missed or late payments to a credit reporting body while you are being assessed for financial difficulty assistance or while you are meeting a financial difficulty assistance agreement.
For personal products (e.g. home loans, personal credit cards, personal loans): missed or late payments may impact your credit report.1
If we do agree to a new arrangement to help with your current financial situation, we will let you know of any adverse consequences in relation to your credit history. We will also tell you if we report any default activity to a credit reporting body.
Yes, with your approval we can discuss your request for financial assistance with your nominated representative, such as a financial counsellor.
You may wish to seek advice from a financial counsellor or other third party, about the options available to you.
We are committed to the rehabilitation of your financial position. Our Business Financial Assistance team or your dedicated Relationship Manager will give you a courtesy call to advise that your financial assistance is coming to an end and guide you through what happens next. We will also notify you in writing when our financial assistance comes to an end.
You may also find these independent resources helpful:
Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) LVIC & NSW)
Meet other business owners who can be a mentor to provide advice, expertise and skills in the business field (S80-S100 per session)
Call 1300 816 817 or visit
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO)
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman provide assistance and dispute resolution for small business owners. They offer a range of direct and online facilities.
Call them on 1300 650 460.
Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS)
Get help to deal with financial hardship.
Talk to a financial counsellor. It's a free service. They can give you individual support to meet your needs and can support you to make the right decisions for your business.
Call 1800 686 175 or visit the Rural financial Counselling Service page.
Government Business
Search the government business portal to find applicable grants and advisory services for different business fields. Or call on 13 28 46.
National Debt Helpline
Financial counselling is a free, confidential service to assist people in financial difficulty National-Debt-Helpline have qualified professionals who can provide you with information, support and advocacy to assist you with your financial situation. You can give them a call on 1800 007 007.
Money Smart
For hints, tips and tools to help you with your money where you need it most whether it's saving or budgeting to managing your debts. Visit Money Smart for more information.
Small Business Debt Helpline
The Small Business Debt Helpline is a free service for small business owners in financial difficulty. They have qualified financial counsellors to assist with your financial difficulty. They can be reached on 1800 413 828 or via https://sbdh.org.au.
Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue run a free program for Small Business Owners called NewAccess. This program is for Small Business Owners to assist manage stress and mental health and does not need GP referral. Beyond Blue can be reached at www.beyondblue.org.au
Message us through the CommBank app. Get answers from our virtual assistant, or it can connect you to a specialist, so make sure you have push notifications for the CommBank app turned on.
If English isn’t your first language, the government’s free Translating and Interpreter Service can help you to communicate with us. This service is available in over 150 languages. We can arrange this service when you call us or visit us in branch.
1 Discover how missed or late payments may impact your credit report.
Our Accessibility and Inclusion Strategy 2024–2026 (PDF) is our public commitment to accessibility and inclusion. It outlines the achievements that we made under the 2021-2023 plan, and the steps we’re taking now.
You can also read the Accessibility and Inclusion Strategy 2024–2026 in Easy English (PDF). This version provides easy to understand and concise information for people with low English literacy.
Complaints and compliments: We want to know when we’ve let you down, so we can make things right. We’d also love to hear about your positive experiences when someone in our team makes things easier, quicker or special for you. You can make a complaint or give us a compliment any time.
