Loans and credit cards

National credit laws ap​ply to loans taken out for personal, domestic or household purposes from credit providers ('lenders'), such as banks or credit unions. Common types of loans covered by the national cred​it laws include:

All banks and credit providers ('lenders') are required to lend money responsibly. This means that, before a lender agrees to lend you money, they must make sure you can afford to repay the loan. The lender will check your credit report and ask you to provide copies of your current payslips, bank account statements and other relevant documents.

If the lender does not take reasonable steps to verify your income before they give you a loan or increase your credit limit, they may be in breach of national credit laws. 

If you think your loan is unsuitable, you should speak to a financial counsellor or get legal advice. You may also wish to make a complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). For more information, go to the AFCA website.

These requirements apply to loans entered into from 1 January 2011. You should get legal advice​ if you entered into a loan contract before this date. 

From 1 January 2019, a bank or other credit provider must decide your application for a credit card or a change to the credit limit based on whether you can pay back the full credit limit within three years. For more information, see Credit cards on ASIC's MoneySmart website.

Co-borrowers are jointly and individually responsible for the loan. If you sign loan documents with another person, you agree to repay the loan to the lender even if one of you stops paying. 

A guarantor is someone (usually a family member) who has agreed to use their own property as additional security for the borrower's loan. If you are a guarantor, you are legally responsible for paying the loan if the borrower cannot repay their loan. For more information, see Going guarantor on a loan on ASIC's MoneySmart website.

If you are guarantor or a co-borrower, you should get legal advice about your situation. 

Paying someone else's loan can be considered a gift and may affect your Centrelink payments. 

A default notice is a letter from the lender explaining that you have not made repayments to your loan. 

If you have received a default notice, don't ignore it! You have 30 days to fix the default before the lender can start a court case to recover the debt from you. 

You can:

• pay the arrears and your usual repayments in full

• apply to your lender for a hardship variation

• apply to the External Dispute Resolution  (EDR) scheme, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

If you are having problems paying your loan, you should speak to a free financial counsellor or get legal advice. A financial counsellor can give you independent advice about your financial situation and may help you negotiate with the lender. 

For more information on how to deal with a default notice, apply for a hardship variation or to an EDR scheme, see Disputes with banks or credit providers​.

If you can't afford to pay the arrears, or if you have been served with a statement of claim, see External Dispute Resolution (EDR), in Disputes with banks or credit providers​.

If you ignore a default notice, the lender can start a court case to recover the debt or repossess any goods that are secured by the loan. The lender can also charge reasonable enforcement costs.