Is Credit Repair Legit in Australia? What's Legal and What Isn't

Short answer: yes, credit repair is lawful in Australia, and it is regulated. But the industry has a mixed reputation, and some of that is earned. Knowing the rules is the best protection you have.

Why it is regulated

Helping consumers dispute credit reporting information for a fee is a credit activity. A provider doing that work must hold an Australian Credit Licence or be an authorised credit representative of a licensee, be a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), and meet obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, the Privacy Act and the Privacy (Credit Reporting) Code.

A OK Credit Repair operates as an Authorised Credit Representative (CRN 580699) of Edward Griffith t/a Debt Management Services, Australian Credit Licence 533933.

Before you engage anyone, ask for their licence or representative number and check it. Ask which external complaints scheme they belong to. A legitimate provider will answer both questions without hesitation.

What a legitimate provider can do

• Review your credit report with you and identify listings that appear inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading
• Check whether the credit provider followed the legal requirements before listing — for example the notices required before a default can be listed, the amount, and the timing
• Raise a dispute with the credit provider or the credit reporting body on your behalf and manage the correspondence
• Escalate an unsatisfactory response to AFCA or the OAIC
• Explain what is on the file, how long each listing stays, and what will simply expire on its own

What nobody can do

• Remove accurate listings. If a default, enquiry or judgement was correctly listed, it stays until it expires. Any claim otherwise is a red flag.
• Guarantee an outcome. No provider controls the credit provider's decision or AFCA's view.
• Give you a "new" credit file. Advice to apply for a new tax file number, ABN or identity to sidestep your file is not credit repair; it is unlawful.
• Change your score directly. Scores are calculated by the reporting bodies from the report. Correcting the report is what can change the number.

Warning signs of an operator to avoid

• Guaranteed removal, guaranteed approval, or a promised score increase
• No licence or authorised representative number, and no AFCA membership
• Large fees demanded upfront with no written agreement setting out what you get
• Pressure to sign on the first call, or a refusal to put fees in writing
• Never mentioning that you can dispute listings yourself for free
• Advice that involves changing your identity details

Free options worth trying first

You are not required to pay anyone to dispute a listing. Any legitimate provider should tell you that up front:

• Dispute it yourself. Contact the credit provider or the credit reporting body. Corrections are free and they must investigate, usually within 30 days.
• Get your free credit report. Every reporting body must give you a free copy — see how to get yours.
• Free financial counselling. The National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 is free, confidential and independent.
• AFCA. Free to consumers if you are unhappy with a credit provider's response.
• OAIC. For privacy and credit reporting complaints.

People generally come to us after trying on their own, or when the file is complicated and they would rather not manage the back-and-forth themselves.

What working with us looks like

We start with an assessment of your credit report and tell you honestly whether we think there are grounds. If there aren't, we say so. If there are, you get a written agreement setting out the potential fees before any fee-bearing work begins, and those fees are payable only upon an agreed successful outcome. Nothing is guaranteed, and accurate listings stay.

You can read our process step by step, see our fees and what they cover, and read how our complaints process works, including your right to take a complaint to AFCA.

For the full picture, see our guide to credit repair in Australia and how credit repair works.

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This article is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account. A OK Credit Repair | ABN 32 672 842 318. Authorised Credit Representative CRN 580699 of Edward Griffith t/a Debt Management Services, Australian Credit Licence 533933.