Credit Scores for Young Australians

You might have signed up for a phone plan without thinking of it as borrowing. Then someone mentions a credit score while talking about a car loan or a rental application, and you wonder whether there's already a file about you somewhere.

There may be. Finding out what's actually there gives you more to work with than trying to change a number.

Your report is the record behind the score

A credit report is a record of your dealings with credit providers. A credit score is a number calculated from that record to help assess lending risk. Credit reporting bodies, also called bureaus, hold the reports and use their own scoring models.

A lender can consider a score alongside your income, expenses and other information. There is no single Australian pass mark that guarantees approval, and a high number doesn't establish whether repayments will fit your life.

If you've never applied for credit in your own name, you may have no report or too little information for a score. A small amount of history is often called a thin file. That gives a lender less to assess, but it is different from a record of unpaid debts. Taking out a credit card or paying interest just to build a score adds a cost you don't need.

What can actually appear on your file?

Your report can include identification details, credit accounts and applications, eligible repayment history and serious overdue debts. It isn't a list of everything you buy. Here's a simplified report, with cues for reading your own.

Report extractWhat to look for

Identity

Morgan Example · current and previous addresses

Check these details belong to you.

Credit account

Example Bank · credit card · limit $2,000 · open

The limit is borrowing capacity, not today's debt.

Repayment history

Recent months: paid on time

Read the report's key for each month's status.

Application enquiry

Example Mobile · post-paid phone application

An enquiry records an application, even without a loan.

Defaults

None listed in this example

A default is a separate serious overdue-debt entry.

Fictional extract, not a bureau template. Real reports have their own layout and status key.

Reports can also contain financial hardship information, certain court judgments and insolvency information such as bankruptcy. Not every provider supplies the same information to every bureau.

Phone plans and buy now pay later count differently

Applying for a post-paid phone plan can leave an enquiry and establish a file. If the plan includes a handset, you're also repaying the phone, and that part can still be owed if you leave early. Ordinary monthly phone and utility payments don't build the same positive repayment history as eligible bank credit accounts. A sufficiently overdue phone or utility debt can still become a default, so a bill can matter even without a credit card.

Buy now pay later applications can involve credit checks, and repayment information can appear where the provider participates in that reporting. Check the provider's credit and privacy information for what it shares. If several purchases are overlapping, our buy now pay later guide shows how to put their due dates beside your pays.

Compare your score with its own scale

The current consumer routes are Equifax and Experian, which now includes former illion information.

Both Equifax and Experian currently describe their consumer scores as 0 to 1,200, with higher numbers generally indicating lower assessed risk. Their models and rating bands differ, so the same number needn't mean the same thing at both bureaus. Read the explanation attached to your own result.

What moves a score, and what stays on file?

Repayment history, applications, account limits and the types of credit you use can affect a score. Making several applications close together can influence how a bureau or lender assesses risk, even if you never take up the offers. Comparing product information before submitting an application avoids creating enquiries just to see what happens.

Paying existing repayments on time is useful for both your file and your budget. There's no fixed points reward for a payment, or universal points deduction for an application. American credit-score tips, such as a universal utilisation percentage, may not apply in Australia.

A late repayment and a default are different records. For repayment-history reporting, a payment counts as missed when it is more than 14 days late. That's a reporting threshold, not extra time added to your bill's due date.

A default is a more serious overdue debt. To list one, the provider must meet requirements including a debt of at least $150, at least 60 days overdue and the required notices. Passing those thresholds doesn't automatically create a default.

1. 2 years
   Repayment historyEach month's record
2. 5 years
   Application enquiriesFrom the enquiry date
3. 5 years
   DefaultsFrom the listing date

Sources: OAIC and Experian retention guidance, November 2026.

Paying a valid default updates its status; it doesn't automatically delete the listing. Keeping your contact details current also helps notices reach you before an unpaid bill becomes a bigger problem.

Get both reports through the free routes

You can request a free report from each bureau once every three months. Extra free access is available in circumstances including a credit refusal within the past 90 days or a correction. Looking at your own report does not lower your score.

Use the official routes:

• Equifax: free credit report.
• Experian free report: use its CreditConnect access route.

Expect identity checks and follow the bureau's document requirements. You don't need a paid monitoring subscription to exercise the free access right. Getting both reports is useful because their contents can differ.

Fix an entry that doesn't belong

Look for accounts you don't recognise, incorrect repayment records and details that link someone else's information to you. An account you never opened can mean someone has your details, and what to do after a scam covers who to call first. Keep the report and supporting records, such as statements or payment confirmations, so you can point to the exact problem.

You can ask either the provider or the bureau to correct it for free. Identify the entry, explain what's wrong and attach the evidence. They must deal with the request within 30 days unless you agree to a longer period, and consult the other organisation where necessary. Keep a copy of your request and get a fresh report after correction to confirm the change.

If it remains unresolved, make a formal complaint to the organisation. Its response or the credit-reporting complaints guide can direct you to the relevant external dispute scheme or privacy regulator.

Be careful with paid credit repair

A firm charging to repair your credit cannot legitimately erase accurate information simply because you pay it. Errors can be fixed through the free process above. Before agreeing to fees, compare the promised service with what you can do yourself, and be cautious about guaranteed removals or quick score increases.

For help with debts you can't afford, the National Debt Helpline offers free financial counselling on 1800 007 007. Ask your provider about hardship assistance early rather than waiting for the file to get worse.

Give existing repayments room in your next pay

The part you can plan is the money needed before the next due date. Put each repayment beside rent, food and the other bills that pay has to cover, and keep that amount available in the account the provider debits.

Clova, our budgeting app, puts each purchase in a category, helping you see which spending you could adjust to make room for an existing repayment. It also brings all your bank accounts into one view, so the money a repayment needs stays visible even when it sits apart from your everyday spending.

For a card balance you're carrying, how to pay off a credit card explains repayment planning. You can compare a payment amount and estimated payoff time in the credit card payoff calculator. Those estimates help with the debt; they don't predict a credit score.

If you're wondering what connecting a bank shares, our open banking guide explains the permissions and how you control them.

You don't need to turn credit monitoring into another weekly task. Knowing the file is accurate and the next repayment is covered is a useful place to leave it.

A note from us

A credit file is worth reading but not worth chasing a number for. Clova is free with every bank, so it adds no cost while you keep the next repayment covered.