With the impact of COVID-19 is felt on the economy and individuals, the government has placed temporary relief measures, effective from 25 March 2020 to 25 September 2020, to lessen the impact on individuals and businesses.

The Government has made a number of changes to the personal insolvency system, including:

• • Temporarily increasing the threshold for the minimum amount of debt required for a creditor to initiative bankruptcy proceedings from $5,000 to $20,000;
  • Time for debtor to respond to a bankruptcy notice has increased from 21 days to 6 months;

and

• The period of protection a debtor receives after lodging a declaration of intention to present a detector’s petition is extended from 21 days to 6 months.

In such financially uncertain times and with the recent changes to bankruptcy laws, you may find it difficult to navigate the personal insolvency landscape. Debt Free Australia is committed to reducing the impact of COVID-19 and will assist you find the debt solution that meets your individual needs. Where many businesses operating online may only offer one or two debt solutions, we offer the full suite of professional debt solutions ranging from personal insolvency agreements to filing for bankruptcy (for more information on offerings please click here). We will take the time to explain each option so you can select the one that best suits your needs to ensure you find relief during times of crisis.

Here at Debt Free Australia we always try to find the least severe financial solution before we consider bankruptcy. In the case where you find bankruptcy to be your best option, we offer a service where we will assist you to complete the bankruptcy forms for a once off fee starting from $600 as we recognise completely the forms by yourself can be overwhelming and that money may be tight right now.

Debt Free Australia are passionate about helping Australians get out of debt and prepare for a better financial future. Please contact us on our 24/7 toll-free hotline on 1800 462 767 to speak to one of our friendly and professional debt relief consultants.

Debt consolidation is when you consolidate (i.e. combine) all your debts, such as existing loans, credit card balances and borrowings into a single loan. This means you will only need to make one repayment, one interest and one set of loan fees.

What are some benefits of debt consolidation?

• To secure a lower interest rate. If you have credit cards the interest rates are generally higher than the rates for debt consolidation; and
• To reduce the number of payments you have to manage each month. By combining them all together it saves you the hassle of multiple organising payments each month.
• It can help you boost your credit rating. Your credit rating is impacted by various factors. If you are unable to pay your credit cards on time it can negatively affect your payment history which has a large stake in your credit rating.

It is important that before you apply for a debt consolidation loan you compare the interest rates of your current debts and see how they compare. Consolidating debt with a personal loan will only benefit you if the new loan has favourable terms and a lower interest rate than your current debt. Before you enter the new loan it is crucial that you carefully assess if you can afford the loan to avoid putting yourself into further debt.

If you would like more information about debt consolidation or are looking for alternative options then give us a call on 1800 462 767. Our personal debt advisors help you find a debt solution appropriate to suit your needs.