Financial Hardship Policy

Financial Hardship is generally understood to be a situation where a residential or small business customer is unable to discharge their financial obligations in relation to their C.T. Agency services, but where the customer reasonably expects to be able to discharge those obligations if payment and/or service arrangements were changed.

C.T. Agency considers financial hardship a state that involves an inability of the customer to pay bills, rather than an unwillingness to do so. For this reason, C.T. Agency staff are trained to identify a genuine willingness to pay and good indicators include an established payment history with C.T. Agency.

When deciding if a customer is eligible for a financial hardship arrangement, C.T. Agency may seek evidentiary proof.

Evidentiary Proof Such As

• A statutory declaration or official written communication from a person familiar with the customers circumstances (family doctor, clergy, bank officer, etc);

• Evidence of the customer having consulted with a recognised financial counsellor or a booking to see a financial counsellor; and/or

• Statement of financial position.

An agreed financial arrangement should be sufficient to cover expected future use of the service (as adjusted to ensure the customer’s financial position does not worsen over a reasonable period of time). The arrangement should also provide a continued reduction of debt at a reasonable level. C.T. Agency staff will retain discretion to determine what level of service this includes, but the customer will always maintain access to receive incoming calls and dial emergency services.