How can I get my free credit report?

If you’ve ever discussed applying for a loan with a lender or broker, you may have heard the expression “creditworthiness”. Lenders use this to describe how trustworthy you are when it comes to repaying your loans.

However, you don’t need to wait for a lender to tell you about your creditworthiness. Instead, you can get a free credit score report from any of Australia’s three credit reporting bureaus, yourself.

Lenders also rely on the reports from these bureaus to determine your creditworthiness.

Getting your credit report has no impact on your score, and you can check your credit score whenever.

Where can I check my credit report for free?

You can get a free credit report in multiple ways, by requesting a copy of your credit report directly from one of the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Illion.

These bureaus often don’t charge you for ordering and viewing your credit report online. They may, however, ask you to pay a small fee for a physical copy of your credit report. You can check your report for free once a year. If you check your report more than once a year, you may have to pay for subsequent credit checks.

When you request your free credit report, you’ll need to supply some personal information. This information includes your name, contact details, and drivers license number. If you don’t have a drivers license, there are other identity documents you can submit.

Not only does a credit report show credit score, but it usually also contains positive and negative credit transactions, typically covering the past five years. You should contact the credit reporting agency if you feel the information in your credit report is not accurate or needs correction in any way.

RateCity also offers a free credit score service, which provides your credit report from Experian. You can sign up for that, for free, here.

What is included in my credit report?

Credit reporting bureaus collect information about you from banks and other lenders complying with the comprehensive credit reporting norms. Simply speaking, every time you borrow money from or repay money to any credit provider, an update is shared with these agencies.

A crucial part of comprehensive credit reporting is that you can find out which transactions affect your credit score positively as well those that have a negative impact. Having this information will help if you’re planning to apply for a loan or take on other debt. Checking your credit report can tell you if there are errors in your credit file, which affect your credit score and need to be corrected.

Borrowing money in one form or another is fairly common, but not many understand its full impact on their finances. For instance, you may be paying for utilities, such as electricity or water, or using a credit card for buying groceries or shopping for clothes. These payments and repayments affect your reliability as a borrower, especially if you miss paying a bill or fail to repay your credit card debt in full.

Why do I need a free credit report check every year?

You don’t necessarily need to check your credit report every year, but it can help you stay informed. By getting a free credit report, Australians can keep track of the impact of various financial transactions on their credit score.

A credit score is a commonly accepted measure of creditworthiness, so keeping an eye on yours will help you be more prepared.