KEEPING YOUCONNECTEDin times of need and hardship

Financial hardship can happen to any of us, and often, it happens when we least expect it. At Tangerine we are committed to helping you respond to financial difficulty, whether temporary or long-term.

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Financial Hardship

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to get in touch so we can find the right solution for your needs.

What is Financial Hardship?

You may be in financial hardship if you are having difficulty paying your Tangerine bills but believe you will be able to get back on top of payments if you are provided with a payment assistance arrangement.

Financial hardship may happen for many reasons, including:

  • Loss or change of income;
  • Illness or injury;
  • A death in the family;
  • Domestic or family violence;
  • Natural disasters;
  • Change of family circumstances;
  • Other personal reasons.
Our Payment Assistance Policy can help you access support and services when you need them most.

How can we help?

Applying for and receiving financial hardship assistance is free of charge.

We understand everyone’s needs are different and offer a range of short term and long-term financial hardship assistance options based on your circumstances and capacity to pay, including:

  • payment extensions for current bills if you need a little more time to make a payment;
  • payment plans to help you pay off an overdue account balance over time under a schedule that you can afford;
  • the ability to change your ongoing bill due date or break your monthly bills into smaller, more regular payments;
  • waivers of late payment and other account fees; and
  • other options suitable to your circumstances.
To help find an appropriate solution for your circumstances, we may ask you questions about your personal circumstances. Read our Privacy Policy to understand how we collect and handle your personal information.

How to apply for support?

If you are experiencing financial hardship, we’re here to help. Our specialist team will work with you to find a suitable arrangement. We will not charge you for assessing your payment assistance application or for administering your arrangement.

You can apply for financial hardship assistance in several ways:

  1. Go to Self Care Portal
  2. Hover over the 'Support' tab and select 'Create New Case' from the dropdown
  3. Select 'Financial Hardship' as the 'Case Category' and 'Payment Assistance Arrangement' as the 'Case Type'
  4. Click the applicable tick box(s) for:
    • The main reason you require financial hardship assistance
    • The option(s) you think may best assist you
    • If you would like to move to a lower, cheaper plan type
  5. Read the Privacy Collection Notice
  6. Click the 'Save' button to submit your application
Submit Online Application

Submit an application to us by filling out the application form below. Providing accurate information will help us to find the most suitable solution for your needs.

Payment Assistance application form

IMPORTANT: Please respond to all questions on this form. After you submit your application, we will contact you to discuss your request and obtain further information depending on the option(s) you select.

For more information about the process for financial hardship requests, please see our Payment Assistance Policy.

Your details

What is the main reason you require financial hardship assistance?

Which option(s) do you think may best assist you?

Select all that apply. For further information about each assistance option below, please see our Payment Assistance Policy.

I just need a little more time to pay my current bill.

Please note we do not allow payment extensions beyond the due date of your next bill.

If you require a longer payment extension for your current bill, please select a payment plan.

I could make my full payment by * 

It would help me to manage my expenses if my ongoing bills were split into smaller equal amounts each week or fortnight.

I would like to make a payment up front to cover future bills.

I would like to change the due date of my monthly bill.


My preferred due date is * 
of each month

I would like to go on a payment plan to pay back my current Tangerine debt.


During my payment plan, I understand that I’ll still need to pay future invoices for my ongoing monthly plan fees by the due date.

Please note: If you have debt that you are unable to pay back in full using a payment extension (option 1), you will be required to go onto a payment plan.

Would you move to a lower, cheaper plan type?

If you are not already on the lowest plan type(s) for your service(s), moving to a lower plan may help you financially because the ongoing monthly fees will be cheaper.

Would you be willing to move to a lower, cheaper plan if this option is available?*


Privacy Collection Notice

The personal information we collect from you via this form is used to assess and/or manage your request and provide you with assistance. By submitting this form, you confirm that you have read the Tangerine Privacy Policy available on the Policies page of the Tangerine website and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information by Tangerine for this purpose and any other purposes set out in the Tangerine Privacy Policy.


Read the Tangerine Privacy Policy.

Download our Financial Hardship Application form (PDF, 131KB) and either:

  • To request a printed version of the application form, please contact us using the details below.

Download our Financial Hardship Application form (PDF, 131KB) and either:

  • Monday to Friday 8:30am-7:00pm AET excluding public holidays

What is the process for Financial Hardship requests?

Once we’ve received your financial hardship application, we will assess your eligibility for assistance within 5 business days and come back to you in writing with the outcome no later than 2 business days after completing our assessment. If we advise you that you’re eligible, we’ll provide a proposed offer of assistance in writing within 7 business days.

If we offer you a financial hardship arrangement, you will have 7 calendar days to accept or reject our offered arrangement. We are unable to implement the options under an arrangement unless you agree.

If you don't respond to our proposal within 7 days, you will need to submit a new application for assistance, because your debt level or other circumstances may change over time and we need to tailor our offer of assistance to you based on your current situation.

You can complain to us about our decision in relation to your application, including by asking us for a review of our decision. You can access our Complaint Handling Process on our Policies page. It explains in detail how to make a complaint, and how we process complaints.

If you’re still not happy, you can make a complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) for external dispute resolution using the following contact details:

at the TIO website www.tio.com.au
by phone 1800 062 058
by email tio@tio.com.au
by fax 1800 630 614
by post PO Box 276, Collins Street West, VIC 8007

Specialised customer support

Domestic and Family Violence Support

We are taking Domestic and Family Violence seriously.

If you or someone you know is or has been affected by domestic and family violence, we are here to support you.

Our Customer Service team can refer you to specialist team members who have been trained to assist people who are experiencing domestic and family violence. We will treat you with respect and empathy, and we will do everything we can to help, while also complying with our industry guidelines.

For information on how our team can support you, view our Domestic and Family Violence Support FAQ.

 

Disaster Policy

At Tangerine, we recognise that living in Australia's climate can bring many challenges - including fires, flooding and other natural disasters.

We know first hand the devastating impact of such events with many of Tangerine’s team members based in regional parts of Australia including Bendigo, Mudgee and Ulladulla, which are more prone to natural disasters.

It is for this reason we understand that our customers impacted by natural disasters will often need that extra bit of support. At our discretion, we can offer flexible temporary support options by individual arrangement with affected customers.

What support is needed will vary depending on the impacts from the disaster event, as well as each customer's individual needs, so we encourage you to get in touch with our friendly customer support team to talk about how we can best assist you during this time.

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Other helpful resources

Interpreting Service

If you're d/Deaf or find it hard to hear or speak to hearing people on the phone, you can make a call through the National Relay Service (free service).

If English isn't your first language, you can access personal translating and interpreting services through TIS National (fees apply).

Appointment of Advocate or Authorised Representative

You can appoint an advocate or authorised representative to act on your behalf when making an enquiry regarding your Tangerine account.

This can be done by logging into the Self Care Portal selecting 'Account' and then 'Authorised Contact' from the dropdown menu. Click on the 'Add Contact' button, fill out the form with your Authorised Contact's details and click the 'Save' button.

Request for Alternative Document Formats

We are happy to make any documentation available in alternative format on request to better suit your needs. For example, larger print, braille, or alternative electronic format.

Please contact our Customer Service team to request this on 1800 211 112 or by submitting a Customer Service Enquiry Case in the Self Care Portal.

Any questions?
Call 1800 211 112

Our Technical Support team are available 24/7, including on Public Holidays