The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has proposed the
introduction of a more comprehensive credit reporting regime, in a
Discussion Paper released as part of its major review of
Australian privacy law and practice.

The ALRC proposes that:

• the types of information that may be recorded on
  a credit file be expanded, to include information about current credit accounts,
  the dates those accounts were opened and closed, and the credit limits
  of each.
• an
  individual who has been a victim of identity theft should be able to
  advise credit reporting agencies and request that this be flagged on
  their file, so that any prospective credit provider is aware that an
  applicant for credit may be an impostor.
• any credit provider who lists debt defaults on credit
  information files must be part of an external dispute resolution scheme to provide a fast, simple process for consumers who wish to
  dispute a default listing.

The ALRC is seeking community feedback on these proposals before the
final report and recommendations are presented to the Attorney-General
in late March 2008. Submissions close on 7 December 2007.