Maddison and Andrew (clients of yours) entered into a consumer loan with ABank. They have just been advised that Maddison is very unwell and has had several months off work. Her employer recently advised that they could no longer hold her job. As a result the couple have been struggling to meet their mortgage repayments and have fallen into default many times. They have provided a hardship application to the lender. Refer to the hardship provisions under responsible lending conduct obligation in Module 1, Section 2 of the learner guide.

1.Explain what the lender must do within 21 days of receiving the hardship application.