Credit Reporting Policy

Credit Reporting Policy

This policy applies in addition to our Privacy Policy and sets out details of our handling of personal information obtained from credit reporting bodies and certain other consumer credit-related personal information described below. This applies in Australia and primarily in connection with our consumer credit products such as credit cards and loans, and in relation to guarantee arrangements for commercial credit. It does not apply to our handling of commercial credit information for purposes unrelated to consumer credit.

The information we collect and hold


The types of credit-related personal information ("credit-related information") we collect may include:

  • permitted identification information such as names, date of birth, sex, 3 most recent addresses, employer and driver's licence number;
  • the fact that any consumer or commercial credit has been applied for and the amount and type of credit;
  • details of your current and previous credit providers;
  • credit limits and certain terms and conditions relating to credit arrangements;
  • start/end dates of particular credit arrangements;
  • records of previous requests made by credit providers to credit reporting bodies for information about you in connection with consumer or commercial credit applications, guarantees and securitisation arrangements;
  • repayment history;
  • 'default information' (in addition to and without limiting repayment history information), i.e. payments overdue for more than 60 days in specified circumstances;
  • in relation to those overdue payments, advice about new payment arrangements or that those payments are no longer overdue;
  • information about adverse court judgements, personal insolvency records and publicly-available information related to your credit worthiness;
  • in specified circumstances that, in the opinion of SafeCode Pty Ltd or another credit provider, there has been a serious credit infringement (e.g. fraud);
  • information we derive from the above information (e.g. our own credit scores, ratings and assessments).

This information may include information about your arrangements with other credit providers as well as with us.

We keep credit-related information in physical and electronic records, both at our own premises and with the assistance of our service providers.

We collect this information from you, your account activity and from third parties including public sources, our related companies, referrers, brokers, agents, your adviser(s) and our service providers including credit reporting bodies and information service providers.

Purposes for handling that information


We collect, hold, use and disclose credit-related information to assess and process an application by you for consumer or commercial credit; manage your credit and related funding arrangements; assess certain claims including hardship; assess an application by you to be a guarantor; review your credit on a periodic basis or in connection with changes (e.g. credit limit); collect overdue payments; create assessments and ratings of your credit worthiness; administer and manage our products and services including monitoring, auditing, and evaluating those products and services; model and test data; communicate with you; work with our service providers, credit managers, mortgage insurers, funders (including those providing securitisation services) and related companies; and deal with any complaints or enquiries. We may also use and disclose credit-related information in connection with acquisitions, mergers or changes in control of our business or assets.

We may from time to time also use credit-related information to inform you of investment opportunities or to provide information about products and services which we expect may be of interest to you. However, we do respect your right to ask us not to do this.

Credit reporting bodies may use credit-related information to maintain information about individuals and provide that information to credit providers for their credit assessments. We may also report to a credit reporting body where an individual fails to meet their payment obligations in relation to consumer credit or commits a serious credit infringement. In some circumstances, subject to legal restrictions, the parties with whom we share credit-related information may operate outside of Australia (this includes locations in the countries listed in the Appendix to our Privacy Policy). Where this occurs, we take steps to protect information against misuse or loss.

How you can access or correct your information


You can contact us as set out below to request access to or correction of your credit-related information. In normal circumstances we will give you full access or make the requested corrections to your information. However, there may be some legal or administrative reasons to deny these requests. If your request is denied, we will provide you with the reason why. Where we decide not to make a requested correction to your credit-related information and you disagree, you may ask us to make a note of your requested correction with the information.

Credit reporting bodies


We may exchange credit-related information with the following credit reporting bodies:

You can contact those credit reporting bodies or visit their websites to see their policies on the management of credit-related information, including details of how to access your credit-related information they hold. From 12 March 2014, you will also have the right to request credit reporting bodies not to:

use your credit-related information to determine your eligibility to receive direct marketing from credit providers; and 20use or disclose your credit-related information, if you have been or are likely to be a victim of fraud.

Contact us


If you have any questions regarding this policy or our handling of credit-related information, please direct your enquiry to [email protected] or contact us by phone on 1300 20 82 77. Please mark communications to the attention of our Privacy Officer. Where you contact us seeking resolution of your privacy concerns, we will respond to let you know who will be handling your matter and when you can expect a further response. If your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, you may have rights to escalate your complaint to an external dispute resolution scheme. We can provide further details of the appropriate scheme for you on request as these may vary by jurisdiction or product. You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as follows:

Phone: 1300 363 992

GPO box 5218
Sydney, NSW, 2001