We're here to help you stay on top of your home loan
We’re committed to helping you stay on top of your home loan during this challenging time. Below are some tips and advice you may find useful. If you’re experiencing financial difficulty, you can always apply for financial assistance.
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Additional support measures for customers impacted by lockdowns
We’ve recently announced additional support measures for customers impacted by current or recent COVID-19 lockdowns. If you are affected and an existing ANZ customer, we’ll work with you to understand your circumstances and identify measures that may be available to assist you.
Access the funds you need with changes to your current home loan
ANZ does not automatically reduce your home loan repayment when variable interest rates are reduced. We prefer to leave this decision up to you. We do this because by not automatically reducing your monthly repayment to the minimum repayment amount (for example, when there is a decrease in variable interest rates), you could end up paying less interest over the life of your loan.
So, if you are currently paying more than the minimum repayment amount, you have the option to reduce your repayments to the minimum repayment amount. If you'd like to change your repayment amount, you can do so on ANZ Internet Banking (see instructions). No internet banking access? Register here or call us on 13 13 14 Mon – Fri 8am to 7pm (AEST).
Redraw
If you're on a variable rate home loan and you have been paying more than the minimum repayment amount on your home loan then you may have funds available to you in a redraw facility.disclaimer Your redraw balance is the amount that you have already paid off on your home loan in excess of the minimum repayments required.
This means you may not need to do anything just yet because when your repayment is due, ANZ will use those extra funds to meet that repayment, meaning you keep up to date with your home loan.
Keep in mind that if you redraw funds, the amount redrawn will be added to your loan balance and interest will be charged on that higher loan balance. There may be ways you can reduce or offset that additional interest. For example, if your loan is eligible, you could move the redrawn funds to an offset account linked to your home loan, (if you have an offset account). If you decide to redraw, you can then transfer these funds to your linked transaction account using ANZ Internet Banking.
Offset
Don’t forget that what is in your offset account is your cash, and it’s easy to access. If you do decide to use the funds in your offset account, the amount of interest that is offset (or reduced) against your total home loan balance will change. This may result in you paying more interest on your loan (than before you accessed the funds in your offset account).
How to check for redraw or offset options
Log onto ANZ Internet Banking to see whether you have redraw (see instructions) or offset funds available. You can see both your redraw balance and the funds available in your linked offset account if you have one.
No internet banking access? Register here or call us on 13 13 14 Mon – Fri 8am to 7pm (AEST).
Change your repayments to interest only
You may wish to consider applying to switch from principal and interest repayments to interest only repayments for a period of time, if it is suitable for you to do so. Keep in mind that making this change might increase the total interest you pay over the life of your loan.
Refinance and consolidate any other debts
Consider how much equity you have in your property. If you have enough equity you may be able to consolidate your other debts.
How to access these options
Please note for each of these options an application will be required and ANZ's standard credit approval criteria applies.
Please talk to your ANZ Lender or Broker or call us on 1800 100 641 (Mon – Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat – Sun 8am to 6pm AEST) to find out more.
Insurance
You may have insurance that covers you for illness or loss of employment. If you do and you’re eligible to receive payments under that insurance, you could consider using that money to make your loan repayments.
Do I still get charged interest?
Yes, during the assistance period when we put your repayments on hold, interest continued to be charged on your home loan and will need to be paid back over your remaining loan term.
This is known as interest capitalisation.
The total amount you owe us therefore increased when repayments were on hold during the assistance period so you may end up paying more interest over the life of the loan.
In order to catch up on the repayments you paused, your repayments will be adjusted at the end of your assistance period. Your repayments could increase, because you’ll be paying off a higher balance in the same period of time.
If you’re making repayments of principal and interest, you may also have the option to extend your loan term by six months.
This means you'll have more time to pay off your loan, but the new repayment amount could still be higher than your original repayment. In addition, by extending the loan term you could end up paying more interest over the life of the loan because it is being charged for a longer period.
Interest capitalisation example
Watch our video comparing these two different repayment options to see how they could be affected by interest capitalisation.
You can also view our infographic (PDF, 62KB).
If you’ve experienced a loss of income or a downturn in business due to COVID-19, then applying for financial assistance might be the right step. It’s extra support to help manage financial difficulty when you need it most.
The information set out above is general in nature and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information, you should consider whether the information is appropriate for you having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. By providing this information ANZ does not intend to provide any financial advice or other advice or recommendations. You should seek independent financial, legal, tax and other relevant advice having regard to your particular circumstances.
Applications for credit are subject to ANZ’s credit approval criteria. Terms and conditions, and fees and charges apply. Australian credit licence number 234527.
Terms and Conditions and eligibility criteria apply to ANZ Redraw. ANZ Redraw is not available on loans in a company name. For further information on ANZ Redraw please refer to the ANZ Consumer Lending Terms and Conditions (PDF 412kB).
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