The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is currently reviewing its Credit Provider Determinations. The Office has prepared Consultation Papers to assist individuals and organisations to prepare comments for the review.

Assignees and Classes of Credit Provider

Consultation Paper No. 1 discusses:

• Credit Provider Determination No. 2006-01 (Assignees) and
• Credit Provider Determination No. 2006-02 (Classes of credit providers)

The Assignees Determination facilitates credit reporting where a debt is assigned from one business to another.

The Classes Determination permits certain businesses that allow consumers to defer payment for 7 days or more, or hire out goods for at least 7 days to access the credit reporting system.

Indigenous Business Australia

Consultation Paper No. 2 discusses:

• Determination 2005 No. 1 Privacy Act 1988, s.11B(1)(d)(ii) - concerning Indigenous Business Australia

The Indigenous Business Australia Determination allows that agency to access the credit reporting system for its loans business.

Consultation process

All three of these determinations have recently been renewed for short periods to allow the Office of the Privacy Commissioner time to consult with the community about how the determinations have operated and the terms in which any new determinations should be cast.

Any comments provided to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner during the review will be taken into consideration when deciding how to proceed in relation to these Determinations.

For more detail about how to make a comment please see the Consultation Papers.

The closing date for comments to both Consultation Papers is 31 May 2006.

Additional Information

Assignees

The Assignees Determination provides that where a business acquires the rights of an existing credit provider in respect of the repayment of a loan, whether by assignment, subrogation or other means it is to be regarded as a credit provider for the purposes of the Privacy Act.

Classes of Credit Provider

The Classes determination provides that all businesses belonging to the following classes are to be regarded as credit providers, for the purposes of the Privacy Act, in relation to the specific loan or transaction:

• a corporation where, in relation to a transaction, it is considering providing or has provided a loan for the provision of goods or services on terms which allow the deferral of payment for at least 7 days; or
• a corporation engaged in the hiring, leasing or renting of goods, where, in relation to a transaction, no amount, or an amount less than the value of the goods, is paid as deposit for return of the goods, and the arrangement is for at least 7 days duration.

Indigenous Business Australia

Indigenous Business Australia is an Australian Government agency which, since March 2005, has provided consumer loans. This function was formerly administered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

Benefits of being a Credit Provider

By being granted credit provider status businesses and government agencies are able to conduct credit reporting, but only in relation to the loans or transactions that bring them within the relevant determination. In particular they are able to directly access an individual's credit report, held by a credit reporting agency, for the purposes of:

• collecting a payment on the loan that is overdue;
• listing either an overdue payment or a serious credit infringement in relation to the loan; updating as paid an existing default listing in relation to the loan;
• making corrections to information it, or the assignor, has previously reported in relation to that loan.