Decision checklists and illustrative calculations: debt agreement costs, bankruptcy contributions, hardship variations, credit report timelines and limitation periods.
The right debt option depends on numbers: what you owe and to whom, what you own, what you earn after tax and what your household needs to live on. These guides walk through those numbers with illustrative households so you can see how each option plays out before you commit.
The debt option decision checklist is the starting point. From there, compare the cost of a debt agreement with repaying in full, estimate bankruptcy income contributions for different households, see what a hardship variation does to repayments, map how long each option stays on your credit report, understand joint debts, guarantors and partners, try negotiating a settlement or payment plan yourself and check whether an old debt is statute-barred under your state's limitation period.
The calculators use the same formulas. Replace every example figure with your own and confirm the result with a financial counsellor or AFSA.
Worked Examples and Checklists
Credit report retention periods for bankruptcy, debt agreements, defaults, judgments and hardship under Australia's Privacy Act Part IIIA, with worked timelines and NPII rules.
Worked Examples and Checklists
An illustrative Australian debt agreement costed line by line, with administrator fees, what creditors receive, and comparisons with repaying in full, a frozen-interest plan and bankruptcy.
Worked Examples and Checklists
A step-by-step checklist for choosing between hardship, an informal plan, a debt agreement, a Part X agreement and bankruptcy in Australia, with three illustrative households.
Worked Examples and Checklists
How to ask several creditors for financial hardship help at once in Australia, the National Credit Code s 72 timeframes, worked numbers for a household, and non-credit hardship programs.
Worked Examples and Checklists
Five illustrative Australian households showing how bankruptcy income contributions are calculated with AFSA's thresholds from 20 September 2026, including pay rises, bonuses and dependants.
Worked Examples and Checklists
What happens to co-borrowers, guarantors, partners and jointly owned property when one person enters a debt agreement or bankruptcy in Australia, with illustrative worked examples.
Worked Examples and Checklists
How to negotiate a payment plan, interest freeze or lump-sum settlement with Australian creditors and collectors without a formal insolvency option, with worked offers and a pro-rata split.
Worked Examples and Checklists
Limitation periods for consumer debts in each Australian state and territory, when the clock starts and restarts, worked date examples, and what to do if a collector chases an old debt.
