You probably have heard about it in the news but if not, we wanted to make sure you are aware of this.

The government has made significant changes to the Privacy Act and as a result, significant changes to credit reporting are taking effect from today.

Some of you might think that it really does not concern you in any way as you don’t have any loans outstanding, don’t have a credit card and always pay for everything using cash or a debit card.

However, that would not be true. These changes do indeed affect almost every single adult in Australia.

Do you have a postpaid phone plan account? Do you have an internet connection or landline at home? Do you use electricity or natural gas in your home?

We’re pretty sure that all of you would answer ‘yes’ to one or more of the questions above!

Well, guess what…If you did, you have a credit file and you need to be aware of these changes as they are quite profound.

The new information to be included as part of the changes to credit reporting has been collected since december 2012 but will only start to appear on your credit file from today.

From today, the changes to credit reporting mean that information on your repayment history will also be included in your credit file. This information will include:

• The date your credit payments were due
• Whether or not you made the payments by the due date. It is important to note that no payment or even partial payment by the due date are both considered missed payments.
• The dates which you made any missed payments (but not the amounts that were missed)

The criteria for recording defaults on your credit file have also been changed as part of the changes to credit reporting and from today, they are as follows:

• The default amount is $150 or more
• You’re a ‘confirmed missing debtor’ or ‘clearout’ which means that your creditor can’t get in contact with you, or
• 60 days or more have passed since the due date for payment and the creditor has asked you to pay the debt either in person (for example by phone call) or in writing (sending a written notice to your last known address).

Your credit file will also now include information on any commercial or business loans you have applied for (regardless of whether you were approved or not for these loans).

Bottom line, it has now become crucial that you always pay your bills on time including your utility and telco bills. If you are the forgetful type, we suggest you set up direct debits for all these accounts to avoid any issues.

The good news is that if you are diligent with your bills, your good behaviour will now be ‘rewarded’ as that will now also be included in your credit file.

For more information on these changes, you can watch the clip below or check out this segment from ABC News.

As usual, every Australian can obtain a copy of their credit report for free once a year. If you have been denied credit (remember that a utility account is considered a credit product) within the last 3 months, you can obtain another copy for free even if it hasn’t been a year since you last requested one.

Australia currently has three credit reporting agencies. They are all private companies who have been licensed by the government to maintain credit files on Australians.

Each company maintains its own independent records so you will have to get a credit report from each of these three companies. They are Veda, Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. They all have a turn around time of around 10 business days for the free service or you can opt for the paid service and get your report either immediately or within a day.

If you now live, or have ever lived in Tasmania, you might also have a credit file with the Tasmanian Collection Service and will need to obtain a credit file from them as well.

As usual, if you have any questions, hit us up in the comment box below. We would also love to hear your views on these changes to credit reporting. Do you think you will be better or worse off as a result?

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