Our commitment

At Experian (referred to as Experian, us, we, our), we recognise the importance of protecting the information we hold, including the special protections applied to credit reporting information. This Policy applies to Experian Data Registries Pty Ltd (formerly illion Data Registries Pty Ltd) as a Credit Reporting Body.

We will manage your credit reporting information in an open and transparent manner, in compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (the Act) and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code 2025 (CR Code).

This Credit Reporting Policy (the “Policy”) describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your credit reporting information and should be read in conjunction with Experian’s Privacy Policy, available at www.experian.com.au/privacy-policy-terms-conditions.

If a printed copy of this Policy is required, you can request this by contacting us on:

1300 783 684 (9am to 4pm Monday to Friday AEST)

Or write to us at:

Experian
PO Box 7405
St Kilda Road
Melbourne VIC 3004

Please note that if you require a copy of this Policy in a particular format, Experian will take reasonable steps to make this happen but may charge a fee depending on the format required.
 

The kinds of credit information we collect and hold

Credit reporting information includes personal information as well as information about consumer credit, including how an individual has managed current or previous consumer finance products. This may include:

  • Identification information (such as name / address / date of birth / employer / etc);
  • Details of the credit provider, mortgage insurer or trade insurer involved in the provision of credit;
  • Repayment history information;
  • Financial hardship information;
  • Type and amount of credit;
  • Default information, and whether the default has been paid;
  • Serious credit infringement information;
  • Personal insolvency information; and
  • Publicly available information.
     

How we collect and hold credit reporting information

As a provider of credit reporting services, we collect credit reporting information from a range of sources in accordance with Part IIIA of the Privacy Act. This includes information provided directly by individuals, as well as from our customers and trusted third-party service providers.

Our sources include:

  • Credit providers who have provided or are considering providing credit to an individual
  • Utility and telecommunications providers
  • Publicly available records such as:
    - Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) personal insolvency records
    - Court records
    - Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) databases

The majority of credit reporting information is obtained from credit providers.

As a global leader, Experian recognises and acknowledges the importance of keeping the data it holds secure and protected from unauthorised access. All credit reporting information relating to Australian consumers is stored within Australia in secure data centres located in Melbourne and Sydney, supplemented by cloud services provided by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

While Experian operates globally and uses failover technologies to ensure service continuity, any data hosted outside Australia (e.g., in the UK, Europe, Switzerland, North America, or Asia) is subject to strict security controls and contractual safeguards to protect personal information.

 

The kinds of information we derive from credit information

We collect credit reporting information from various sources, which is then consolidated to allow us to provide to our customers, the individual or their representative.

To assist individuals and our customers in understanding credit worthiness, we may derive certain information from all of the credit reporting information we hold. An example of this is a credit score which is information that is available to our customers and the individual directly when they request credit reporting information from us.

 

The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose your credit reporting information

Some of the most common reasons why we collect, hold and use your credit reporting information are:

  • assisting our customers in assessing applications for personal or business related credit;
  • assisting our customers in understanding the credit worthiness of their clients;
  • assisting individuals in understanding their own creditworthiness;
  • for identity verification purposes for individuals and our customers;
  • managing our relationship with individuals and our customers;
  • assisting our customers in credit management and debt recovery;
  • assisting our customers in risk management;
  • undertaking research, analytics and/or benchmarking in relation to credit activities;
  • for audit and compliance purposes: and
  • to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
     

Direct marketing and credit reporting information

We do not use or allow credit reporting information to be used for Direct Marketing; this is not a permissible use.

While Direct Marketing is not permissible, the use of certain credit information for “pre-screening” purposes is permitted. Pre-screening allows a Credit Provider to exclude individuals from a direct marketing campaign where the individual is deemed ineligible for the product/service in question based on the Credit Provider’s eligibility criteria. Even if a Credit Provider does use the pre-screening service, they will not see any credit information relating to the individuals.

If an individual does not want their credit information used for pre-screening purposes, they should advise us using the contact details below.

 

What if I am the victim of fraud, or am likely to become a victim of fraud?

Where you are a victim of fraud or have reasonable grounds to believe that you are (or are likely to be) a victim of fraud, you may request that we do not use or disclose your credit reporting information for 21 days from when you make the request (known as the ‘Ban Period’). If an organisation asks us for a copy of your credit report during the Ban Period, we’ll let them know there is a ban in place.

During the Ban Period you may:

  • You may still request a copy of your Experian Credit Report

To find out more information, or to request a Ban, please visit our website at experian.com.au/consumer/request-a-ban

 

How information is gathered to create your Experian credit report

Experian uses the credit reporting information it holds on you to prepare your Experian credit report. Your Experian credit report may include:

  • your Experian credit score – a numeric representation of your credit worthiness based on mathematical algorithms;
  • your identification details, including name (former name(s)) and address (former address(es));
  • your employer or previous employer;
  • details of any defaults reported to us;
  • current or recently closed credit accounts such as mortgages, car loans, personal loans, credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later accounts or consumer leases etc.
  • comprehensive credit reporting information, including advice of late or missed payments or whether an account is in hardship reported to us;
  • court judgment information;
  • company directorships; and
  • the number of information requests or enquiries made on your credit reporting information by credit providers.
  • File access records (soft enquiries)

Please note that financial hardship information is not used when calculating your Experian credit score.
 

How to access your credit reporting information

You are entitled to request access to review the credit reporting information we hold about you. To request access, order your credit report via CreditConnect on our website at experian.com.au/consumer/order-credit-report. This is an on-line portal that will allow you to access this information immediately, repeatedly and free of charge.

Alternatively, you can send us a request with the following details:

  • information required to identify you;
  • proof of your identity;
  • if you have authorised a person to act on your behalf;
  • a written statement signed by you, authorising the identified person to receive the information on your behalf.

We will require you to provide information to reasonably verify your identity and/or to identify your credit reporting information from our systems (including details such as previous names, addresses and identity details).

Once we are reasonably satisfied of your identity or your authorisation, we will provide you or your representative with a copy of your credit reporting information.

Manual requests for credit reports are fulfilled within 10 business days of receiving your completed request (please note the on-line portal will make this information available immediately when ID requirements are satisfied).

You are entitled to a free credit report every three months, if you have recently been declined credit or have recently had a correction made to your credit information. Experian does not charge a fee to access a copy of your credit report.
 

How to request a correction to my credit reporting information

If you believe that the information we hold about you may not be up to date, accurate, or complete, you have the right under the Privacy Act to request for a correction of that information. In such cases, we ask that you contact us so that we can investigate the matter on your behalf.

Once all relevant information has been received, we will investigate and use all reasonable endeavors to resolve the issue within 30 days from receipt of your completed correction request. During our investigation, we may require additional details from you to complete our review into your request. Depending on the nature of the correction we may require further information from, or the assistance of another party such as the credit provider, to investigate then respond to the correction request.

We will advise you of the outcome. Where the investigation is complex, we may seek your agreement to allow more time for the investigation and resolution. Where, following our investigation we determine that a correction is warranted, we will take all reasonable steps to correct our records and we will provide you with confirmation of the correction.

If we do not update your information as a result of your request, we will provide a formal response as to the reason for our decision. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation you may refer to the credit provider who supplied the information or the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA):

Australian Financial Complaints Authority Ltd
GPO Box 3
Melbourne, VIC 3001 

Phone: 1800 931 678  |  9:00am to 5:00pm AEST/AEDT weekdays
Website: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au

How to lodge a complaint

While we aim to address matters quickly and efficiently, we understand there are times when things may go wrong and you may want to make a complaint.

We aim to respond to all complaints promptly and will endeavour to resolve the matter within 30 days, this includes:

  •  acknowledge receipt of the complaint;
  •  investigating the issues that gave rise to the complaint;
  • decide on the outcome of the complaint (or if more time is needed to investigate the matter further); and
  • respond in writing, giving reasons for the decision.

To raise a complaint, please use the following contact details

Experian Privacy Complaints
PO Box 7405
St Kilda Road   VIC   3004

Or through our Complaints form

Raise a complaint now

If your concern relates to the correction of information we hold about you, we request that you seek a correction by following the process described above before submitting a complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation, you may refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or Australian Financial Complaints Authority (our external dispute resolution scheme) using the details below.

Contact details for both parties are as follows:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001 www.oaic.gov.au

Australian Financial Complaints Authority
GPO Box 3
Melbourne, VIC 3001 www.afca.org.au

Further information

This Policy reflects general information on how we:

  • comply with our obligations under the Privacy Act and Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code;
  • collect, hold, use, disclose, and manage your credit information; and
  • provide credit reporting business services to our clients and to consumers.

This Policy is not legal advice and is not intended to replace the rights, duties, and obligations a party has under the Privacy Act or Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code. Nothing in this Policy is intended to create or impose rights, remedies, or obligations additional to those set out in the Privacy Act or Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code. All reasonable care has been taken by Experian to prepare and keep this Policy up to date. However, the information contained in this Policy is not intended to be a warranty or representation or otherwise to create any legal contractual relationship or obligations between you and Experian.