Australia $88 Billion Banking Group Westpac Fined $18.5 Million (AUD 26 Million) by Australia Court for Negligent in Failing to Respond Within Required Timeline to 200+ Financial Hardship Payment Requests Over 6 Years from 2017 to 2023, Customers were Struggling to Make Repayments for Credit Cards, Home Loans, Personal Loans & Car Loans
28th May 2026 | Hong Kong
Australia banking group Westpac ($88 billion market value) has been fined $18.5 million (AUD 26 million) by Australia court for negligent in failing to respond within required timeline to 200+ financial hardship payment requests over 6 years from 2017 to 2023. Westpac customers were struggling to make repayments for credit cards, home loans, personal loans & car loans. Announcement (27/5/26): “Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) has been ordered to pay $26 million in civil penalties for failing to respond to customers who were facing financial hardship. The Honourable Justice McEvoy ordered the penalty after finding that Westpac failed to respond to over 200 online hardship requests within the time required by law over nearly six years from 2017 to 2023. The requests were made by customers of Westpac and its subsidiaries St George Bank, Bank SA and Bank of Melbourne – who notified they were experiencing financial hardship and were struggling to meet repayments on products including home loans, credit cards, personal loans and car loans. In rejecting Westpac’s submission that $10 million was an appropriate penalty, his Honour remarked that such a penalty ‘would be little more than derisory in the circumstances and therefore wholly inappropriate’. Westpac made admissions of contravention in the proceeding and paid more than $1.7 million in remediation to affected customers, including refunds of fees and interest and compensation for non-financial loss.” Background – Under the National Credit Code, customers who experience difficulties meeting repayments under a credit contract may give a lender notice of the customer’s inability to meet their obligations. A lender must decide whether to agree to change the contract. Under s72(4) of the National Credit Code, a credit provider which does not agree to change a credit contract in response to a customer’s hardship notice must give the customer a notice advising them of that decision, the reasons the credit provider has not agreed, the contact details for the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and the customer’s rights to complain under that scheme. Under s47(1)(a) of the National Credit Act, lenders must do all things necessary to ensure credit services are provided efficiently, honestly and fairly. To meet that obligation, lenders must take steps to implement and maintain effective systems, processes and operations. Westpac admitted it contravened s72(4) of the National Credit Code and ss47(1)(a) and 47(4) of the National Credit Act. ASIC has taken decisive action against lenders for alleged breaches and alleged contraventions of their obligations towards borrowers, including: NAB, and its subsidiary AFSH Nominees, which were ordered to pay a $15.5 million pecuniary penalty in August 2025 for failing to respond to customers’ hardship notices within the time required by law (25-165MR) ANZ, which was ordered to pay $40 million for failing to respond to hundreds of customer hardship notices, in some cases for more than two years, and failing to have proper hardship processes in place (25-314MR) Non-bank lender Resimac, for allegedly failing to provide appropriate care when responding to thousands of hardship applications as required by its credit license (25-081MR). In 2024, an Australia Federal Court ordered Westpac to pay $6.4 million (AUD 9.8 million) in penalty & legal costs for misconduct in the $7.9 billion (AUD 12 billion) pre-hedging interest rate swap transaction for a consortium comprising of AustralianSuper & IFM entities for purchase of majority stake in electricity provider Ausgrid, with Westpac derivatives trading desk generating $13.6 million (AUD 20.7 million) in trading profit with $2.4 million (AUD 3.7 million) paid to the sales team as commission.
“ Australia $88 Billion Banking Group Westpac Fined $18.5 Million (AUD 26 Million) by Australia Court for Negligent in Failing to Respond Within Required Timeline to 200+ Financial Hardship Payment Requests Over 6 Years from 2017 to 2023, Customers were Struggling to Make Repayments for Credit Cards, Home Loans, Personal Loans & Car Loans “
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Australia $88 Billion Banking Group Westpac Fined $18.5 Million (AUD 26 Million) by Australia Court for Negligent in Failing to Respond Within Required Timeline to 200+ Financial Hardship Payment Requests Over 6 Years from 2017 to 2023, Customers were Struggling to Make Repayments for Credit Cards, Home Loans, Personal Loans & Car Loans
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