(1) This section is made for the purposes of sections 20R and 21T of the Act.
Note 1: Section 20R of the Act sets out a regime for access seekers and individuals to access credit reporting information relating to the individual. Individuals and access seekers may request access; credit reporting bodies must respond within 10 working days. Access must be free if a request of that nature has not been made in the previous 3 months.
Note 2: Section 21T of the Act sets out a similar regime for credit eligibility information held by credit providers. Providers must give access to this information without charge on request.
Evidence requirements for access to credit information
(2) Where a person requests a credit reporting body or credit provider to provide them with access to credit reporting information or credit eligibility information, the body or provider must not provide access without first obtaining such evidence as is reasonable in the circumstances to satisfy itself of:
(a) the identity of the person making the request; and
(b) that person’s entitlement to access the information.
Other requirements for services to access credit reporting information
(3) When a credit reporting body provides a service through which an individual (whether personally or through another access seeker) may obtain their credit reporting information, the body must:
(a) provide information about how the individual may obtain their credit reporting information from other credit reporting bodies; and
(b) provide a means of requesting the credit reporting information other than through the body’s website.
Note: A credit reporting body may also provide the service through their website.
Free access for individuals who have had an application for consumer credit declined
(4) Where an individual requests a credit reporting body to provide access to the individual’s credit reporting information, the body must not charge a fee for giving access to the information if the individual provides the body with evidence that, not more than 90 days previously, a credit provider refused a consumer credit application made by the individual.
(5) Subsection (4) applies:
(a) even where the request for access is made through another access seeker; and:
(b) regardless of whether the credit reporting body has provided the individual with access to credit reporting information free of charge at any time in the previous 3 months.
Note: Subsections 20R(5) and (6) of the Act generally provide that a credit reporting body may charge an access seeker where a request for access has been made in the previous 3 months.
Requirements for free access services offered by credit reporting bodies
(6) Where a credit reporting body provides credit reporting information to an access seeker free of charge as required by the Act, the Regulations or this CR Code:
(a) the body must provide the access seeker with access to:
(i) all credit information in relation to the individual currently held in the databases that the body utilises for the purposes of making disclosures permitted under Part IIIA of the Act;
(ii) all current CRB derived information about the individual that is available; and
(iii) the individual’s credit rating as set out in this section;
(b) the body must present the information clearly and accessibly and provide reasonable explanation and summaries of the information to assist the access seeker to understand the impact of the information on the individual’s credit worthiness;
(c) the body may only provide the access seeker with a direct marketing communication where the access seeker has provided his or her consent to receipt of this communication by opting in to providing this consent; a pre-ticked consent box does not constitute opting in; and
(d) if the access seeker has requested a physical copy of the information, the body must provide the information in that form.
Requirements for fee-based services offered by credit reporting bodies
(7) If a credit reporting body has a service whereby an individual (whether personally or through another access seeker) may for a fee obtain their credit reporting information (a fee-based service):
(a) the information made available by the credit reporting body about the fee-based service must prominently state that individuals have a right to obtain their credit reporting information, including their credit rating, free of charge in the following circumstances:
(i) if the access request relates to a credit provider’s decision to refuse the individual’s consumer credit application; and
(ii) if the access request relates to a decision by a body or provider to correct credit reporting information or credit eligibility information about the individual; and
(iii) in addition to the access described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii), once every 3 months; and
(b) the credit reporting body must take reasonable steps to ensure that its service through which individuals may obtain their credit reporting information free of charge is as available and easy to identify and access as its fee-based service; and
(c) if the individual (either personally or through another access seeker) requests a physical copy of the information through the fee-based service, the credit reporting body must provide the information in that form.
Access to credit eligibility information
(8) For the purposes of section 21T of the Act, a credit provider:
(a) must take reasonable steps to provide an accessible means for an individual to obtain access to credit eligibility information about them; and
(b) should, unless unusual circumstances apply, provide access to the individual within 30 days of the request; and
(c) must present the information clearly and accessibly and provide reasonable explanations and summaries of the information to assist the access seeker to understand the impact of the information on the individual’s credit worthiness; and
(d) must advise the individual:
(i) that, in order to ensure that they have access to the most up-to-date information, they should additionally request access to the credit reporting information held by credit reporting bodies about them; and
(ii) how they may obtain their credit reporting information from credit reporting bodies.
Provision of derived information
(9) Where a credit reporting body provides an access seeker with CRB derived information about the individual or a credit provider provides an access seeker with CP derived information about the individual, the information may be provided in a way that preserves the confidentiality of the methodology, data analysis methods, computer programs or other information that is used to produce the derived information.
Credit ratings
(10) If the business of a credit reporting body involves deriving more than one form of credit rating or credit score for individuals:
Note 1: Section 20R of the Act generally requires credit reporting bodies to provide access to credit ratings upon request by an access seeker.
Note 2: An example of multiple forms of credit ratings or credit scores is where different ratings or scores are derived using calculations based on different sets of credit information.
(a) the credit rating required to be given under Section 20R of the Act is the rating derived from the calculation that is used to provide credit ratings or credit scores to credit providers using the broadest range of information available to the body and, if there is more than one such calculation, the one that is most accurate, relevant and up to date; and
(b) if the body imposes a charge for giving a credit rating derived using a different calculation to that described in paragraph (a) to access seekers, the body must give the individual (whether directly or through an agent) the option to receive that rating for free once every 3 months.
(11) If a credit reporting body refers access seekers to a service under which a third party offers to give the access seeker the individual’s credit score or credit rating (on a more regular basis than quarterly), the body must:
(a) prominently state when referring to the third party service that the individual has a right to receive their credit rating free of charge under section 20R of the Act; and
(b) take reasonable steps to ensure that the free service is as available and easy to identify and access as the referral to that other service.
(12) If a credit reporting is unable to derive a credit rating for an individual because the body holds insufficient credit information about the individual, the body must explain that to the access seeker and give the access seeker an explanation of the credit information that the body needs to hold to be able to derive a credit rating. This explanation may be given by reference to another document that is reasonably accessible.
(13) When giving a credit rating to an access seeker, the credit reporting body must:
(a) explain the nature and purpose of a credit score and how the credit rating provided under this section relates to that score;
(b) categorise the total scale into no less than five bands;
(c) describe those bands, including the credit score ranges they represent, and use appropriate descriptors for those bands that relate to the credit worthiness of individuals within each band;
(d) state which band the credit score for the individual sits within; and
Note: This can, but does not have to, involve the body providing a precise credit score for the individual.
(e) give an explanation statement of the kind described in subsection (14).
(14) For the purposes of this section and subsection 20R(1A) of the Act, the statement referred to in subsection (13) must include:
(a) an explanation of the types of credit information held by a credit reporting body and the general impact of that information on an individual’s credit score—this explanation may be given by reference to another document that is reasonably accessible; and
(b) in relation to the band in which the individual’s credit rating sits, a description of the particular types of credit information that the credit reporting body reasonably believes are the most important for people who sit within that band and why that information may be important (which may include a description of the importance of the absence of the particular type of credit information to a credit score within that band). For the purposes of this paragraph, the body would ordinarily describe 3 – 5 types of credit information which typically have the biggest impact on the credit score of individuals within that credit rating band
(c) other than for the highest band, and based on the relative importance of the types of credit information, a statement about the common things that individuals within the band can do to improve their credit rating; and
(d) an explanation of how credit providers may, and may not, access and use a credit rating or credit score in the assessment or management of credit, including how the credit rating or credit score relates to other elements of credit assessment or management (such as responsible lending assessments)—this explanation may be given by reference to another document that is reasonably accessible.
(15) A credit reporting body must review the assumptions used in developing the explanation statement described in subsection (14) no less than every 12 months, or otherwise when the body makes a significant change to the calculations used to derive credit ratings.
(16) Where a credit reporting body provides access to credit reporting information to an access seeker and that information includes repayment history information or financial hardship information:
(a) the information must not be given to the access seeker using codes other than those disclosed to the credit reporting body by the relevant credit provider, except for:
(i) repayment history information disclosed under section 8, which may be represented in a graphical form; and
(ii) codes or other information that the body reasonably believes will assist the access seeker to better understand the individual’s credit history; and
(b) the body must include the following statement in relation to the particular type of financial hardship information that is provided to the access seeker:
(i) where financial hardship information relating to a variation FHA is provided in relation to a particular month: “This loan was varied in this month and repayment history reflects the new payments required”; and
(ii) where financial hardship information relating to a temporary FHA is provided in relation to a particular month: “There was an arrangement for this loan in this month and the repayment history reflects that arrangement”.
Note: Subsection 8A(13) requires credit provider to take reasonable steps to ensure that financial hardship information relating to a variation FHA is expressed as “V”, and financial hardship information relating to a temporary FHA is expressed as “A”.
(17) If a credit reporting body gives a credit score or credit rating to an access seeker, and the credit reporting information held by the body includes financial hardship information, the body must explain that the financial hardship information was not included in the calculation of that credit score or credit rating.