Understanding your credit report
What is my credit report?
Your credit report is a file of all the personal and financial information that is used to calculate your credit score. This includes things like your current and previous credit accounts, hard and soft credit enquiries, defaults, bankruptcies and other relevant financial information.
Many of the details listed on your credit file will disappear after a certain amount of time has passed. At this point, they will generally also no longer be considered when calculating your credit score.
You can track any changes to your credit report and score via your Finder app at any time.
What appears on my credit report?
Here's a list of everything that appears on your Finder credit report and what each one means. You can also find this information by returning to the Credit Score tab in your Finder app and tapping "View your credit report".
Personal information. Your name and date of birth.
Accounts. The open and closed accounts on your credit report.
Hard credit enquiries. A hard enquiry appears on your report whenever you apply for credit. These enquiries are visible to other lenders, and too many in a short space of time can bring your credit score down.
Soft credit enquiries. A soft enquiry will appear on your report when you browse for credit products, or when you check your own report. They're only visible to you and do not affect your credit score.
Commercial credit enquiries. A commercial enquiry will appear on your report when you apply for credit for business purposes.
Defaults. If you have a consumer credit account that is overdue by more than 60 days and you owe more than $150, it will be listed in this section.
Credit infringements. If credit providers have reported any serious credit infringements to Experian, they will be listed in this section. A serious credit infringement is when you don't pay a debt and the credit provider is unable to contact you.
Bankruptcy Act Actions. This section shows a list of any acts of bankruptcy that have been recorded against you. These include formal Bankruptcy orders as well as Debt Agreements and Personal Insolvency Agreements. The information is provided by AFSA (Australian Financial Security Authority).
Court Actions. This section shows a list of any Court Actions concerning you that have been reported to Experian. The information comes from State and Federal court records.
Personal statements. Any personal statements that you have requested to be added to your credit report are displayed here. These statements are visible to anyone who has permission to review your credit report, from consent you have provided.
How long do things stay on my credit file?
| Type of listing | Number of years it's listed | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history information | 2 | Monthly repayment history information on active credit accounts. |
| Credit enquiries | 5 | Applications made to utility companies, banks or lenders for services or credit products (whether approved or not). |
| Overdue accounts listed as a payment default | 5 | Overdue accounts of $150 or more that is 60 days or more overdue. |
| Writs and summons | 5 | An invitation to appear in court to settle a debt. A writ is similar to a summons but is for a higher court. |
| Court judgements | 5 | Once you've been through the court process the court judgement will remain on your credit file for 5 years. |
| Bankruptcy information | 5 | If you enter into bankruptcy it will be removed from your file two years from the date you're discharged or five years from the date you became bankrupt, whichever is later. |
| Overdue accounts listed as a clearout or serious credit infringement | 5-7 | Overdue accounts in default where the credit provider hasn't been able to contact you for 6 months. Can be listed for 7 years from the time they're listed but drop back to 5 years as a default listing once it's paid. |
