The Australian Banking Association confirmed that its members have wide-ranging forbearance measures in place to support customers affected by recent floods.

Speaking on ABC radio on Friday, ABA chief executive Anna Bligh said banks did not have rigid policies or timetables for repayment deferrals.

Bligh said: “There will be people who need more than three months and banks certainly understand that. It’s just that after three months it gets a bit more ‘bespoke’, if you like.”

Bligh said that when reviewing individual cases, banks would look at how much of the mortgage is paid off, whether the household has savings, income and age.

She gave a commitment that banks “will look at every single case on a case-by-case basis”.