What is a Personal Credit File?
In Australia, every time you apply to buy something on credit, the application is recorded on your Personal Credit File.
Common types of credit are:
- Credit cards
- Personal loans
- Mortgage
- Monthly phone account
- Buy now and pay later accounts
When you apply for credit, the business you apply with will check your Personal Credit File. They are looking to see how many loans or types of credit you currently have to determine if you can afford to also repay them.
They will also look to see if you are what is called a bad credit risk and have any defaults recorded against your file.
A default occurs when you don't pay your account or you get behind in your repayments and the business that you owe takes action against you to collect the outstanding monies. If you get behind on your loan repayments or you don't pay a bill on time, you may be considered in default on your account.
Once you are considered to be in default, this default will also be recorded on your Personal Credit File for seven years.
Accidents do occur and you may receive a default recorded against you when it is simply a misunderstanding or program error. It is your responsibility to make sure your Personal Credit File is correct when you apply for credit.
The easiest way to do this is to regularly review your Personal Credit Report to make sure everything is as you expect. This will also help you identify if you are at risk of identity theft as it will usually show up here first.
You can get a copy of your Australian Personal Credit Report here or if you are a New Zealander, check out this site here.
If you are from the US you can get a free copy of your Personal Credit Report at
You are entitled to one free copy of your Personal Credit File each year so make a note to include applying for a free copy of your credit report as part of your annual taxes so you don't forget.
