Insolvency eligibility tool

A debt agreement, also known as a Part 9, is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors to pay an amount you can afford.

How debt agreements work:

• You negotiate to pay a percentage of your combined debt over a period of time.
• The length of a debt agreement depends on what you negotiate with your creditors, but can be up to 3 years, or up to 5 years if you own, or have a long-term lease over, your home.
• You make repayments to your debt agreement administrator, not your creditors.
• Fees apply to process, propose and manage the agreement. Fees between administrators vary, contact a registered debt agreement administrator to discuss fees before you go ahead. The total set-up fee (which may include the lodgement fee) and any ongoing fees must be included in your debt agreement proposal.
• After you complete the payments, your agreement ends. Your creditors can't then try to recover the rest of the money you owe.

Debt agreements are not:

• consolidation loans or agreements to borrow money
• able to release you from all types of debts - some debts you will still need to pay.

Entering a debt agreement may have a serious impact on you. It may affect your ability to get credit and will appear on a public register for a limited time.

Read more about the consequences of a debt agreement or find out how to lodge a debt agreement proposal