Credit Reporting

If you apply for a product from ANZ, we may request credit reports from credit reporting bodies. ANZ may request such reports for consumer credit or commercial credit applications.

These credit reports contain information which assists us to assess your application, including information about your credit history with other credit providers. Credit reporting bodies can provide credit providers with credit reports in certain circumstances, including when an individual makes an application for credit, or when a credit provider is seeking to help an individual avoid defaulting on their credit. Credit reports are designed to assist credit providers to accurately assess an individual’s ability to repay credit.

When requesting a report, ANZ will tell the credit reporting body that you have made an application and the type and amount of credit you are applying for – this information is referred to as an information request.

ANZ is not required to get your consent to do this.

An information request will appear on your credit report and may be used by the credit reporting agency or other credit providers to assess your credit worthiness, including when you make subsequent applications for credit. Information requests on your credit report can affect your credit score depending on the amount and type of credit you are applying for, frequency of information requests appearing on your credit report and your credit history.

Credit reporting bodies

We disclose information to the following credit reporting bodies:

Equifax
Call: 13 83 32 
Mail: Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Limited
PO Box 964
North Sydney NSW 2059
Email: customerserviceAU@equifax.com
Web: mycreditfile.com.au

illion
Call: 1300 734 806 
Mail: illion Australia Pty Ltd
PO Box 7405
St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
Email: pac.austral@illion.com.au
Web: checkyourcredit.com.au

Experian
Call: 1300 784 134 
Mail: Experian Australia Credit Services Pty Ltd
PO Box 1969
North Sydney NSW 2060
Email: creditreport@au.experian.com
Web: experian.com.au/credit-bureau

Each of these credit reporting bodies is required to have a policy which explains how it will manage your personal information. If you would like to read the policies of the credit reporting bodies we disclose information to, you can click on the links provided above. If you would like more information about the way they manage your personal information, you can contact them directly.

Disclosing your information to credit reporting bodies

Credit providers like ANZ are required to disclose information about your credit history to credit reporting bodies, such as information about the existing credit products you hold and whether you make your repayments on time. Credit reports also contain information about defaults and other credit infringements.

The idea behind this system is give credit providers access to information to allow them to make more informed decisions when assessing credit applications. The law applies strict rules around the purposes for which credit providers can access and use this information.

ANZ discloses the following information about your credit to credit reporting bodies:

• that ANZ provides credit to you;
• the type of credit you hold;
• the amount of credit provided to you;
• if you have a hardship assistance arrangement and whether that arrangement is temporary or a permanent variation to your contract; and
• when your credit account is opened and closed.

We may also disclose how you repay your credit. If you fail to make repayments on your credit or you default on your obligations, ANZ may report this information to a credit reporting body. Equally, ANZ will inform a credit reporting body if you make repayments on time or if you have corrected a default.

Information about how you repay your credit also known as Repayment History Information (RHI) is displayed on your credit report for 24 months. Information about whether you have a hardship assistance arrangement also known as Financial Hardship Information (FHI) is displayed on your credit report for 12 months. Other information can be displayed for up to 7 years where required.

We may also tell a credit reporting body if we suspect you have committed a serious credit infringement (for example, if you fraudulently obtain or attempt to obtain credit or you deliberately seek to evade your repayment obligations).

Fraud

If you believe that you have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud (for example, because you discover someone else is applying for credit in your name), you can ask credit reporting bodies not to use or disclose credit reports they hold about you. You can do this by contacting the credit reporting bodies directly. If you make such a request, a credit reporting body will not disclose information about you for 21 days. You can request an extension to this period if you believe you are still, or still likely to be, a victim of fraud.

Accessing your information, requesting corrections or making complaints

We manage the information we obtain about you from a credit reporting body with the same care as we manage all other personal information about you.

Read our Privacy Policy (PDF) for more information about how to access the information we hold about you, how to seek correction of that information and how you can lodge a complaint if you have concerns about the way that ANZ has managed your personal information.

What more information?

To understand more about credit reporting click here. You can also refer to the Australian Retail Credit Association website, Credit Smart.