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Hardship clause is standard NCC §72 — you have full statutory rights here.
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We read your PDS — here's what stood out
Plain-English summary of your Westpac Premier Advantage Home Loan PDS (uploaded 14:42, analysed in 8s by ✍️ Letter Writer + 🔍 Accuracy Check).
What this product costs and what conditions apply
This is a variable-rate home loan with an offset account and free redraw. The annual package fee is $395 (waived for the first year if you bundle a transaction account).
Your effective rate has increased from 4.86% (origination 2018) to a current variable rate of 9.4% — a 4.54 percentage point increase. The PDS section 4.2 says rate changes are at the bank's discretion within RBA + product-margin bands.
There are exit fees: $350 discharge fee + $300 settlement coordination + ~$110 government title fee. If you refinance with another lender within the first 5 years (you're now in year 7, so this doesn't apply to you anymore).
Hardship clause (PDS section 8.1): you can apply for a hardship variation under section 72 of the National Credit Code. Westpac must give you a written response within 21 days.
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Rate-change discretion is broad — section 4.2 lets the bank widen its margin during "market stress".
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Exit fees are above market median for refinancing within first 5 years (not currently applicable to you).
Every fee we found in this PDS
| Fee name | Amount | Frequency | PDS section | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual package fee | $395 | Annual | s2.1 | Covers the home loan + a linked transaction account |
| Establishment fee | $600 | One-off | s2.2 | At loan origination · already paid (2018) |
| Valuation fee | $250 | One-off | s2.3 | At loan origination · already paid (2018) |
| Redraw fee | $50 | Per redraw | s2.4 | When you take money out of redraw |
| Late payment fee | $9 | Per occurrence | s2.5 | If repayment is more than 7 days late |
| Discharge fee | $350 | At payout | s2.6 | When you refinance or pay off the loan |
| Title settlement fee | $300 | At payout | s2.7 | Coordinator's fee at refinance/payout |
| Statement reissue fee | $25 | Per request | s2.8 | If you ask for a paper statement reissue |
What this PDS does NOT do
- Does not include lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) — applied separately based on LVR at origination.
- Does not include any extension of fixed-rate term — fixed periods require a separate fixed-rate PDS supplement.
- Does not include the linked credit card or insurance products (separate PDSs).
- Does not include broker fees if applicable — those go to your broker, not Westpac.
- Does not include foreign-currency mortgage features — AUD only.