Lenders use your credit report, and often a credit score calculated from it, when they decide whether to offer credit and on what terms. ASIC's MoneySmart site, last updated 9 September 2026, says a higher score means a lender will generally consider you less risky, which can affect the deal you are offered.

You have a legal right to see the report. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), updated 14 April 2026, says a credit reporting body must give you access to your consumer credit report for free once every three months, and also for free if you have been refused credit in the past 90 days, or if your credit-related personal information has been corrected.

This is general information only. It is not personal credit advice, and it is not a recommendation of a score app or a credit-repair service.

Who holds your report now

MoneySmart and the OAIC currently list two main credit reporting bodies in Australia:

  • Equifax, on 138 332
  • Experian, on 1300 783 684

The two files can hold different information, so it is worth requesting both. Until recently there were three main bodies. CreditSmart, an official consumer site of the Australian Retail Credit Association, explains that from 1 April 2026 illion and Experian operate as a single Experian credit reporting body. A lender that checks an Experian report from that date is using a file that includes information previously held on both the illion and Experian reports. Older letters may still say illion.

Scores are not identical across bodies, and they are not a single national number. MoneySmart says that, depending on the agency, your score will be between zero and either 1,000 or 1,200. The report may also show a rating band, such as low, fair, good, very good or excellent.

Some online score services use data from one or more of these bodies and may be free. MoneySmart's caution is to avoid any provider that asks you to pay or to give credit card details, and to remember that signing up usually lets the provider use your information for marketing unless you opt out.

What appears on a credit report

According to MoneySmart, a typical report can include:

  • personal details used to identify you, such as your name, date of birth, licence number, employer, and current and previous addresses
  • a credit rating band, and sometimes the score
  • credit products you have held in the last two years, including the type, provider, limit, and opening and closing dates
  • repayment history for those products, including whether you paid by the due date, and missed payments not made within 14 days of the due date
  • financial hardship arrangements for a credit product, showing the months the arrangement is in place, or the month a permanent variation was made, but not the other details of the arrangement
  • defaults, credit applications, guarantees, bankruptcy or debt agreements, court judgments, and requests for your report

A financial hardship arrangement does not, by itself, affect your credit score. If you stick to the agreed arrangement, MoneySmart says you are shown as up to date, and the listing is deleted after 12 months. An arrangement with a buy now pay later, phone, internet or utility provider will not appear on your credit report, although other rules can still apply to those accounts.

A service provider may report a default if the amount owed is $150 or more, the provider cannot contact you (a clearout), 60 days or more have passed since the due date, and the provider has asked you to pay by phone or in writing. A default stays on the report for five years, or seven years in the case of a clearout. Paying the debt does not remove the default listing, but the report should then show that it has been paid.

How applications and buy now pay later can affect a score

MoneySmart's buy now pay later guidance, last updated 6 October 2026, says that applying for a buy now pay later arrangement will trigger a credit check, that a lot of checks can influence your score and be a red flag for lenders, and that late or missed buy now pay later payments can be reported and can reduce your score. Home loan, car loan and other credit applications are also recorded.

Checking your own report in the ordinary way, through the bodies listed above, is not the same as a lender's enquiry. The useful habit is to look at your own file, not to apply for credit you do not need in order to "test" a score.

How to get a copy, and how to fix mistakes

Request a free copy from Equifax and from Experian at least once a year, and before a major application if you can. Check that the loans and debts are yours, and that your name and date of birth are correct.

If something is wrong or out of date, contact the credit reporting body and ask them to fix it. MoneySmart and the OAIC both describe this as a free process. Some companies charge to "repair" a file. MoneySmart's position is that the only thing they can ask a body to remove is wrong information, and you can do that yourself for free.

If there are loans or debts you know nothing about, treat that as a possible identity theft issue and follow the official identity-theft and data-breach guidance from MoneySmart and the OAIC. MoneySmart also notes that you can request a temporary ban on your credit report so that unauthorised applications are harder to complete.

What usually helps, and what does not

There is no official checklist that will lift a score by a promised number of points. The information that feeds the score is mostly about whether you pay on time, how much you have already borrowed, and how often you apply. Paying existing accounts by the due date, not missing repayments for 14 days or more, and avoiding applications you do not need are the practical implications of what the report contains.

A hardship arrangement, used properly, is designed so that sticking to it does not mark you as behind. Ignoring a debt until it becomes a default can leave a listing on the file for years after you have paid it.

If repayments are getting out of control, talk to the lender early, and consider free financial counselling through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one official Australian credit score?

No. Each credit reporting body calculates its own score from its own file, on a 0 to 1,000 or 0 to 1,200 scale, and lenders may use additional information of their own.

Do I have to pay to see my report?

Not for the free statutory access described by the OAIC: once every three months, and after a recent credit refusal or a correction. At other times a body may charge a fee, which must not be excessive.

Does a financial hardship arrangement ruin my score?

MoneySmart says a financial hardship arrangement does not affect your credit score, and that if you stick to it you are shown as up to date. The fact that an arrangement existed can still appear for a limited time.

General information warning

This article is general information only. It is not personal financial product advice or credit advice, and it is not a recommendation to apply for, accept or decline a loan, or to use a particular score service. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Confirm the current process with Equifax, Experian, the OAIC or MoneySmart, and consider free financial counselling if you are having trouble with debts.

Sources

Last reviewed: November 2026.