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The comprehensive credit reporting system enables lenders in Australia to share information about your credit accounts and repayment histories with credit reporting bodies, like Experian, who then consolidate this information into a credit report.

Repayment history information such as whether you have made minimum payments on your credit cards and other loans on time may be included in your credit report.   

This section includes information on the most common queries relating to comprehensive credit reporting and repayment history information. View the detail on your topic of interest below.  

Credit reporting is the sharing of information between credit providers and credit reporting bodies (like Experian, Equifax and illion) about the lending products you have, such as credit cards, personal loans, home loans and overdrafts. Providers of other types of credit, such as phone, internet and utility providers, can also take part in credit reporting. However, these organisations cannot share all the same types of information as lenders who offer credit cards, personal loans, home loans and overdrafts.

The comprehensive credit reporting system (CCR) enables lenders in Australia to share information about your credit accounts and repayment histories with credit reporting bodies, who then consolidate this information into a credit report.

The CCR system is tightly controlled under the law. It means that lenders now have more detail into how you have managed your credit with other lenders. Importantly, under CCR, positive things that you do such as regularly paying on time are highlighted. This not only helps you shop around to get the best deal, but also helps lenders ensure they lend in a responsible manner.

Under CCR, information that can be included in your credit report include:

·       The type of credit product – e.g. home loan, credit card

·       The date the credit account was opened and the date it was closed

·       The maximum amount of credit available (the credit limit)

·       Repayment history information (RHI) which records if account payments were made on time or not over a 24-month period

RHI can only be shared by lenders like banks, credit unions and licensed finance companies. It can’t be shared by phone, internet or utility companies.

In Australia, there are three main credit reporting bodies – Experian, Equifax and illion and while each has its own way of displaying credit reports and calculating a credit score, they are all similar in the information they gather and provide.

Your credit report may have information about your repayment history for your credit cards and other loans (e.g., personal loans and home loans) – that is, whether you have made your minimum payments on time. This is very important information, because if you apply for a loan with a new lender, it tells them how well you’ve managed your existing loans.

Your payment history is recorded on a month-by-month basis. Other lenders will see a 24-month history of your payments. After 24 months, the information is removed from your credit report.

Repayment history on your credit report is usually shown as a 24-month chart to indicate your repayments were either:

·       On time and up to date shown as 0 or ✓

·       Overdue: shown as a figure from 1 to 6 depending on number of months overdue or shown as an X when repayments are seven or more months          overdue

Only banks, credit unions and licensed finance companies (that have an Australian Credit Licence) can report or view repayment history information. This means that other businesses that provide credit, such as phone, internet, gas, and electricity companies, are not able to report this information or access it, and so regular monthly payments on utility bills etc are not recorded in a credit report.

Importantly, some buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers can report and view repayment history information, but many cannot.

Repayment history cannot be reported for every type of credit. Credit cards, home loans, personal loans, permanent overdraft accounts and car loans can be reported as they are offered by lenders that have an Australian Credit Licence. Buy-now-pay-later products (BNPL) may be reported depending on whether the lender has a credit licence. Many BNPL lenders are not licensed and therefore won’t report repayment history information.

Repayment history information is not reported for phone, internet, gas and electricity accounts.