If your organisation is a credit provider for Privacy Act purposes you can gain access to credit reports and list overdue payments and serious credit infringements.
The definition of “credit provider” for credit reporting purposes is wider than the National Consumer Credit Protection definition which requires consumer credit providers to be licensed.
For Privacy Act credit reporting purposes, the Privacy Commissioner has made three new credit provider determinations, extending existing determinations, in addition to the credit providers listed in Section 11B(1)(a) and (b)(iii) to (iv) of the Privacy Act:
- Credit Provider Determination No. 2011-1 (Assignees) effective 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2014
- Credit Provider Determination No. 2011-2 (Classes of Credit Providers) effective 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2014
- Credit Provider Determination No. 2011-3 (Indigenous Business Australia) effective 31 October 2011 to 30 October 2014
The Assignees Determination provides that a corporation which acquires the rights of a credit provider with respect to the repayment of a loan shall, in relation to that loan, be regarded as the credit provider for the purposes of the Privacy Act.
The Classes of Credit Providers Determination provides that a corporation which:
- is considering providing or has provided goods or services on terms which allow deferral of payment, in full or in part, for at least 7 days, or
- hires out or leases goods where an amount less than the value of the goods is paid as deposit for return of the goods and the arrangement is of at least 7 days duration,
shall be regarded as a credit provider for the purposes of the Privacy Act in relation to those transactions. It need not be a lender to access credit reports or report defaults.
The Indigenous Business Australia Determination provides that the statutory authority Indigenous Business Australia is a credit provider for the purposes of the Privacy Act.
