Review of Australia’s Credit Reporting Framework

Overview

Australia’s credit reporting system is an important part of our economic and financial infrastructure.

It supports credit providers to assess the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers by balancing the need to protect your personal information and your credit provider’s need to access your credit information during the credit assessment process.

The Australian Government has appointed Ms Heidi Richards to undertake an independent review of Australia's credit reporting framework. This review is required under s25B of the Privacy Act 1988 and s133CZL of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

We have developed this issues paper to invite public feedback on the performance of Australia’s credit reporting framework and to develop recommendations for government to improve its overall operation.

We will use the feedback we receive to inform the development of a final report, which we will provide to the Attorney-General and Assistant Treasurer by 1 October 2024.

Download our issues paper

We have prepared an issues paper that outlines the review’s key considerations, developed following consultations with key credit reporting framework participants.

The paper includes a range of questions covering the spectrum of issues in Australia’s credit reporting framework. We encourage you to download, read and refer to this paper in preparing your submission.

• Issues paper [PDF]
• Issues paper [DOCX]

Why your views matter

Credit reporting is an important part of Australia’s economic and financial infrastructure.

Many key moments in life such as buying a house or a car involve a credit check. The information that appears on a credit report can have a significant impact on an individual’s participation in society.

Your feedback and perspectives are invaluable in helping us understand how best to improve Australia’s credit reporting framework for all participants.

Have your say

We invite submissions in response to the consultation paper and, in particular, in response to the specific consultation questions set out in the paper. You do not need to address every question in your submission. You are welcome to only respond to those questions that are relevant to you or your organisation.

You can submit your response under your name or anonymously. We will publish responses at the end of the consultation period. We will not publish submissions if you do not consent, or if there is any potential legal or other issue with publishing the submission. Submissions may be subject to freedom of information requests, or requests from the Parliament. Personal information shared through the consultation process will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. For more information on how we collect, store and use personal information, please read our Privacy Policy.