Debt Collector Rights in Australia — What They Can and Cannot Do

If you have fallen behind on a loan, credit card or car finance, you have a legal right to ask your lender for hardship help — and they must respond. And if a debt collector is contacting you too often, at the wrong hours, or unfairly, there are specific rules they are breaking. Disputes about both can go, for free, to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), with free financial counselling from the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

How often and when a debt collector can contact you

Debt collectors must follow the ASIC/ACCC Debt Collection Guideline (RG 96). It sets real limits, and most people being chased have never been told them.

• No more than 3 contacts per week, and no more than 10 per month.
• Contact only at reasonable hours — 8am to 9pm on weekdays, and 9am to 9pm on weekends.
• Not on public holidays without your consent.
• If you say the time is inconvenient, they must offer to reschedule. Pressing on with the call anyway, without offering to call back, is itself a breach.

What counts as harassment

Debt collectors must not harass or coerce you, or cause unnecessary distress or inconvenience. That is broader than shouting and threats. The guideline treats the contact process itself as capable of being the breach when it is used to pressure rather than to actually resolve the debt.

• Deliberately prolonged calls, or slowing the pace after you have asked them to be brief.
• Drawn-out verification used as a pressure tactic — for example asking you to verify the mobile number on which the call is already taking place.
• Long pauses inserted between verification questions.
• Continuing extended verification after you have objected.
• An intimidating or dismissive tone when you are trying to resolve a dispute.

They must not misstate your rights

A debt collector must not make false or misleading statements about your legal position. That includes overstating what they can do to you, and understating your rights to dispute the debt, to pay it in a different way, or to reinstate a contract. If you were told something that turned out not to be true, write down what was said and when — it matters.

Does ignoring debt collectors work?

No, and it usually makes things worse. Ignoring contact does not make the debt go away, and it removes your chance to dispute the amount, raise hardship, or negotiate before enforcement starts. It can also lead to a default listing on your credit file that stays for five years.

What does work is engaging in writing. Asking for the debt in writing, disputing it if it is wrong, and applying for hardship all create a record — and a record is what an AFCA complaint runs on.

Putting contact in writing

You can ask a debt collector to communicate with you in writing only, and to stop calling. Put the request itself in writing, keep a copy, and note the date. If calls continue after that, each one strengthens a harassment complaint rather than weakening your position.

Two things to be careful about: asking for written-only contact does not dispute the debt, and it does not pause enforcement. If you also think the debt is wrong, or you cannot pay it, say so separately and explicitly.

Is there an “unfair debt collection practices act” in Australia?

Not under that name — that is United States law, and searching for it will give you rules that do not apply here. In Australia the protections come from the Australian Consumer Law and the ASIC Act (which prohibit misleading, unconscionable and harassing conduct in connection with financial services) together with the ASIC/ACCC Debt Collection Guideline, RG 96. The protections are real; the statute name is different.

Your hardship rights

• You can give a hardship notice in any words — a phone call or message saying you cannot meet your repayments is enough.
• Under the National Credit Code, the lender must generally respond to a hardship notice within 21 days.
• If they refuse to vary your repayments, they must explain why — a flat refusal without reasons is a problem.
• Taking enforcement action while your hardship notice is still being considered can also be challenged.

How to act

1. Start a contact log today: date, time, who called, and what was said. This is the single most useful thing you can do.
2. Give your lender a hardship notice — in writing if you can — and keep a copy.
3. Propose what you can realistically afford (a pause, reduced payments, or extended term).
4. If contact exceeds 3 times a week, falls outside 8am–9pm weekdays, or continues after you said the time was inconvenient, note each instance against the guideline.
5. If they ignore the 21-day deadline, refuse without reasons, or keep enforcing while your notice is open, lodge a free complaint with AFCA.
6. Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 for free, independent financial counselling.

How FairClaim helps

FairClaim walks you through what has happened, checks the contact pattern and the lender’s response against the hardship provisions and RG 96, and drafts a hardship request or an AFCA complaint. Free to start.

Frequently asked questions

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