The Australasian Retail Credit Association (ARCA) has released for public consultation a draft of the new Credit Reporting Code of Conduct (CR Code).

If approved by the OAIC, the new CR Code will supplement the privacy protection regime set out in Part IIIA of the Privacy Act as amended in December 2012, and will replace the existing Credit Reporting Code of Conduct, that has operated since 1996. It will set out how the Privacy Act Part IIIA provisions are to be applied or complied with.

The CR Code has been designed to:

• address expectations in Part IIIA or the Explanatory Memorandum;
• replicate current Credit Reporting Code of Conduct obligations that continue to be relevant given that this Code will be replaced by the new CR Privacy Code;
• make credit reporting work from a practical perspective;
• provide some assistance to consumers to understand and interact with the new systems; and
• address industry uncertainty as to how to interpret aspects of Part IIIA in the interests of consistency of approach within industry.

The CR Code does not encompass all aspects of Part IIIA and so compliance with the CR Code alone will not achieve full compliance with Part IIIA.

The CR Code is being released publicly so that submissions can be received from the public and stakeholder views taken into account as required by Section 26Q of the amended Privacy Act.

The public consultation process closes at 5.00pm on 5 May 2013.

It is expected the finalised draft Code will be lodged with OAIC by 1 July 2013.