Matilda and Ulysses are a young married couple (aged 21 and 22 respectively) who live in Melbourne, Australia. They arri

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Matilda and Ulysses are a young married couple (aged
21 and 22 respectively) who live in Melbourne,
Australia. They arrived as refugees in January 2020.
They have no children but care for Matilda’s younger
brother (aged 17) who has Down syndrome, and
Matilda’s mother (aged 92) who needs an operation to
remove shrapnel from her spinal area.
They are currently renting a small two-bedroom
apartment in Carnegie, but plan to buy an apartment in
the future. They have no assets, other than $1000 in
savings deposited with the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia, and an antique bible that had been in the
family for centuries. Currently the couple receives a
‘NewStart’ allowance (from the Commonwealth
Government) totalling approximately $780 per
fortnight. Their living costs are approximately $650 per
fortnight including rent of $500 per fortnight.

Although they can speak English, their knowledge of
Australian culture is extremely limited and they lack
knowledge of the banking industry, and Australian laws
in general. They visited T-BANK, seeking advice
about a loan of $20,000 to pay for Matilda’s mother’s
operation. They don’t have an account with
T-BANK, because the Commonwealth Bank refused to
provide them with a loan whilst Matilda was
unemployed. T-BANK advised them to use a mortgage
broker, Natalie, who recommended they obtain a loan
from ReadyQik Finance Ltd because ‘whilst not the
lowest interest rate’ they had ‘the best terms and
conditions’. She said that this meant that they were
very understanding of the challenges borrowers faced,
and would not take enforcement action against the
borrowers if they failed to make the ‘odd payment’.

Matilda and Ulysses thanked Natalie, stating that no
one else would help them. Natalie helped them to
complete the loan application form because they did
not understand many parts of the document, especially
the part that mentioned something called the ‘HEM’.
Natalie told them it was a formula used to calculate
their living costs, and it included things like food and
entertainment expenses and alcohol. They replied that
they did not drink alcohol (for religious reasons) and
also lived very modestly—cooked at home, and rarely
went out due to taking care of Matilda’s brother and
mother, so Natalie said not to worry and filled in the
form for them, which they then signed.
Two months later they are struggling to remake their
repayments when they receive a letter from T-BANK
claiming that they have provided false information on
their loan application form. According to the letter they
under estimated their expenses and stated that Matilda
earned $250 per week as a private music teacher. They
deny this.

Additional information

• According to some estimates, the poverty line in
Australia for a family of similar size is $909 per
fortnight.
• The HEM used by many lenders including T-
BANK calculates ‘basic’ lifestyle annual expenses
at $32,400 p.a.
• ReadyQik Finance is a subsidiary of T-BANK,
(which is a subscriber to the Code of Banking
Practice) and operates under the umbrella of T-
BANK’s ADI licence.
• Previously, Natalie had been investigated by
ASIC for alleged breaches of the NCCP Act, but
had been cleared last year and on return to
work at Readyqik Finance she was promoted to
Senior Lending Officer. T-BANK was aware of
this information.
• Natalie’s whereabouts are unknown.