The lawsuit, filed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), resulted in the Federal Court's ruling on 14/8/2025. In addition to the fine, NAB must publish a notice of the violations on its website.
The judge noted that those seeking assistance were experiencing medical emergencies, domestic violence, pandemic-related hardships, job losses, natural disasters, and redundancy. These tragedies exacerbated their already difficult circumstances.
"This penalty sends a strong message to other financial institutions: customers must be at the heart of everything you do," the ASIC deputy chair stated after the court session.
Under the National Credit Code, if customers cannot repay their debts, credit providers must consider altering contracts and inform them in writing. The code also mandates that credit providers offer "a formal mechanism to protect consumers facing hardship".
Specifically, they must comprehensively assess factors to help customers continue repayments through measures like deferrals, reduced payment periods, extended deadlines, or lower interest rates.
NAB is accused of repeatedly violating the National Credit Code by not providing written responses to 345 hardship notices between 2018 and 2023.
The hardship assistance requests were summarily rejected without review or written responses due to NAB staff "accidentally clicking" the decline button in the system. Approximately 6% of the 12,600 hardship assistance applications were mistakenly declined this way.
Consequently, 345 customers remained unaware of their application outcomes, leaving them in despair "at their most vulnerable time," the judgment stated.
NAB's chief customer experience officer acknowledged the violations, apologized, and said 70 staff members were hired to address the issue. "We are very sorry for letting down our customers when they needed our help," he said, promising continued support for customers in difficulty.
In a letter to affected customers, the officer affirmed that customers "deserve better", especially during their most challenging financial periods.
Hai Thu (Theo MSN, The Adviser, News AU)
