Under the Privacy Act and Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code (known as ‘CR Code’), there are several ‘notifiable matters’ that Alex Bank Pty Ltd ABN 13 627 244 848, Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence 510 805 (Alex, we, us or our) are required to disclose to you at or before the time of collecting personal information that is likely to be disclosed to a Credit Reporting Body (CRB).
Credit reporting bodies and your personal information
CRBs are allowed under the Privacy Act and CR Code to handle personal information relating to credit. If you apply for any kind of credit or offer to act as guarantor, we may disclose your personal information to, or collect personal information about you from, a CRB. This information is used for the purpose of determining your eligibility for credit, and we may process this information to create an unsuitability assessment or other ratings of your suitability for credit.
CRBs may include your personal information in reports that they provide to credit providers to assist those providers in assessing your creditworthiness (such as when you have applied for a loan from the provider).
The CRBs we deal with are:
- Equifax – equifax.com.au
- illion – illion.com.au
- Experian – experian.com.au
For contact details and information on how CRBs manage credit related personal information, please see their policies available at the links above.
The Privacy Act and the CR Code limit what we can do with the information we obtain from a CRB. Generally, it can only be used in relation to the consumer credit products you hold through us. If you fail to meet your payment obligations in relation to consumer credit (e.g. if you miss or are late with payments, or commit defaults), or commit a serious credit infringement, we may be entitled to disclose this to a credit reporting body.
Your Rights
CRBs offer a service to credit providers wishing to send direct marketing material about credit services to individuals. This is called “credit pre-screening”. You have the right to request that the CRBs do not use your information for this purpose. To opt-out of credit pre-screening, contact the CRBs, using the contact details listed on their websites noted above.
You can also ask a CRB not to use or disclose your personal information for a period if you believe on reasonable grounds that you have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud.
You have a right to request access to credit information we hold about you. You can also ask for corrections to be made. For further details, please refer to the credit reporting policy.
You also have a right to complain if you are concerned about how your credit information is being handled by us or have other concerns. For further details, please refer to the credit reporting policy.
Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR)
CCR enhances the credit reporting system that’s already in place by allowing for the exchange of additional information between credit providers and credit reporting bodies to provide a more complete picture of someone’s credit history.
Previously a credit report contained any credit enquiries, defaults, serious credit infringements and public record information. The additional information shared for CCR includes account open and closed dates, types of credit, credit limits and up to 24 months of repayment history information.
Credit history information | Existing Reporting | CCR |
Credit history information | X | |
Account open dates | X | |
Account closed dates | X | |
Types of credit | X | |
Credit limits | X | |
24 months of repayment history information | X | |
Credit enquiries | X | X |
Defaults | X | X |
Serious credit infringements (e.g. fraud or deliberately evading your obligations) | X | X |
Public record information, including personal insolvency and court proceedings | X |
Alex has elected to participate in ‘comprehensive credit reporting’, and may receive and/or disclose the additional CCR information about applicants or borrowers from or to a credit reporting body.
Additional changes to CCR also mean that as part of its reporting requirements, Alex will be required to report financial hardship information.
Alex customers will see a change to their credit report with the inclusion of comprehensive credit information. CCR recognises people who display good credit management behaviours and consistent, timely repayments. This means it’s more important than ever to repay your accounts on time so this appears favourably on your credit report.
Please visit CreditSmart.org.au for further information on CCR.
If you’re having trouble making your repayments, we can help. Please contact us for a confidential conversation about your situation.