Responsible Lending? Coalition’s left hand not sure what its right hand is doing

Under comprehensive credit reporting, which became law in July 2018, a huge amount of financial data is included on a person’s credit report. Previously, credit reports only held negative information such as missed payments of more than 60 days and bankruptcies.

Key information that is now included on a person’s credit report is Repayment History Information (a full explanation is included below). However, the inclusion of Repayment History Information (RHI) poses dangers to borrowers. In a 2008 report titled “For your information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice”, the Australian Law Reform Commission noted that the inclusion of RHI required responsible lending practices to be in place in all federal and state/territory…