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Credit Reporting Privacy Code Amendment No 5

5 October 2011

Amendment No 5 to the Credit Reporting Privacy Code was issued on 30 September 2011. The amendment completes the move to more comprehensive credit reporting and gives victims of fraud the right to freeze their credit reports. 

On 1 October 2011, parts of Amendment No 4 came into force. Credit reporters can now collect the driver licence number and use a hashed version of it to better match credit records. They must also provide individuals with a new and improved Summary of Rights.

The Privacy Commissioner has issued Amendment No 5 to the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2004.

The amendment makes significant changes to credit reporting, including:
• permitting the ongoing collection and reporting of repayment history information;
• enabling victims of fraud to have their credit information suppressed;
• permitting credit reporters to pre-screen credit providers' direct marketing lists;
• introducing a $100 threshold for listing credit defaults;
• providing clearer procedural safeguards for guarantors;
• helping ensure that people shopping around for credit are not penalised for that in their credit score;
• imposing more detailed obligations on credit reporters to demonstrate compliance; and
• providing for the transition from predominantly negative to comprehensive reporting.

View:

• information paper (5 October 2011) 
• background paper on changes to the notified amendment (5 October 2011)
• FAQs.

Credit reporting code changes start 1 April 2012: Credit providers will be sending notices to existing customers during transition

From 1 April 2012, banks, finance companies, and phone or power companies can start sharing repayment history information with credit reporters so long as they meet a number of requirements.

One requirement is that they must notify existing customers if they plan to start loading information about existing credit accounts into the credit reporting systems. Customers might expect to start receiving notices from about February 2012 onwards. 

New FAQs for more information.

The amendment comes into force on 1 April 2012 (except for two transitional clauses coming into force on 1 December 2011). View the current version of the code.

View historical aspects of Amendment No. 5.

 

 

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