How does ‘Repayment pause’ work?

How Banks are helping home owners

If you have paid ahead on your home loan, you may be able to access the additional money repaid using your available redraw. If you are paying above your minimum contracted repayments, you may wish to lower your repayments.

Redraw can be accessed easily online or by contacting your Bank. Home loan repayments can be adjusted to your minimum contracted repayment online or by contacting your Bank.

The option of a ‘repayment pause’: If you are seeking support during this challenging time, you may be eligible to pause your home loan repayments for a two to six-month period, regardless of whether or not you’ve paid ahead.

1. You will be able to apply for a repayment pause usually via an online form located on your Bank’s website. Please check in regularly to your Bank’s website for new forms and further updates on their COVID-19 support package.
2. You can also contact your Bank’s hotline number to find out if a repayment pause is the right option for you.

Please be conscious that your Bank’s phone support team will experience high demand and longer than usual response times.

Remember, there are other options available to you to help with your cash flow during these inevitable tough times:

• Claim your leave entitlements from your employer
• Draw down up to $20,000 of your superannuation
• Register with Centrelink

How the Bank’s ‘Repayment Pause’ may work?

• Eligible customers cans pause their home loan repayments for two to six months including a three-month checkpoint
• Eligibility applies to customers financially affected by Coronavirus (owner occupiers and investors on either principle and interest or interest-only repayment schedules with either variable or fixed rate loans).
• Redraw may be revoked for customers during the repayment pause. Access to fund via direct debit cards and processing of direct debits into the loan will also be revoked. If you wish to access your available redraw funds, you may transfer these funds from your home loan into your savings or transaction account before requesting the repayment pause. Access to redraw is outlined above. All unused available redraw will continue to be accessible at the conclusion of the repayment pause period.
• The repayment pause will not impact eligible home loan customers’ credit score and credit reports. All new lending requests after the repayment pause will need to meet lending qualifying criteria.

Important details

After a repayment pause, you are required to bring your account up to date over the contracted loan term. This will result in monthly payments being adjusted to meet the contracted loan term (i.e. repayments will be higher than current repayments and will incur additional interest over the life of the loan). If you are ahead on your repayments, you should consider whether redraw is a more suitable option. Some Banks have stated they will increase your loan term so your contracted minimum home loan repayments will remain the same prior to you seeking the ‘repayment pause’.