Free Credit Score Check Australia

You can check your credit score directly with any of Australia’s major credit reporting agencies, or through a number of third parties. There is no “best” credit score check, however, the three main reporting agencies in Australia are Experian, illion and Equifax.

To check your credit score with Canstar, you’ll first need to create a free Canstar account and verify your identity. This involves providing some basic information, including your residential address and one valid form of photo identification- such as your passport or Australian driver licence number. Once verified, you’ll be able to access your credit score.

To view your credit summary report, an additional layer of identity verification is required. You’ll need to provide a second, different form of identification from the one you used initially.

When checking your credit score with Canstar, you will need to provide some key identifying information in order for Equifax to verify your identity. These will then be verified against government records, so it is important to enter these details correctly.

Credit score check

To access your credit score, you’ll simply need to provide your name and date of birth, residential address for the last three years, along with one form of photo identification using either your Passport or Australian driver licence.

Credit summary report

To view your full credit summary report, an additional layer of identity verification is required. You’ll need to provide a second, different form of identification from the one you used on your initial credit score check.

At Canstar, we are committed to empowering consumers to make better financial decisions. 

We believe accessing your credit score could give you further insight into how you may be seen through a lender’s eyes when you apply for credit or a loan.

 If your score isn’t as high as you like, you can turn to us for some ideas on how you may be able to improve it over time. Improving your credit score could possibly result in a greater chance of having your next loan approved, greater borrowing capacity and access to lower rates on a loan or credit card. 

A credit score is a numerical figure that represents your creditworthiness, and is meant to indicate how reliable you are relative to other borrowers. A credit report is a more detailed picture of your finances that contains information about past or present loans or debt, and your repayment history. Any events such as bankruptcies or defaults may also be included in your credit report. Your credit score is derived from the information in your credit report, but they are two different things. 

When you check your credit score with Canstar, we connect you directly to Equifax, Australia’s leading credit bureau, who verifies your identity against Australian government databases to ensure only you can access your credit score. To provide you with this service, we temporarily hold some of your credit score information while your account with us is active. You may revoke your consent for us to access your credit information by deleting your account at any time, which will discontinue the credit score service.

For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.

Checking your credit score with Canstar qualifies as a “soft” credit enquiry, which means your credit score will not be affected. According to Equifax, an inquiry with a check credit score tool like this can be either “soft” or “hard” – soft credit checks occur when you check your credit score through an authorised third party like Canstar, whereas hard credit checks occur when you actually apply for a credit or loan product, and a bank or lender requests access to your full credit report. According to Equifax, only hard credit checks will impact your credit score.

Checking your credit score with Canstar is free. You can read more about our business model here.

Your credit score will be a number between zero and 1000 or 1200, depending on which credit reporting agency you’re using. If you’ve found yourself wondering “what is my credit score?”, Equifax assigns a credit score in six bands, which are as follows:

• Excellent: 853 – 1200
• Very Good: 735 – 852
• Good: 661 – 734
• Average: 460 – 660
• Below Average: 0 – 459

Based on these criteria, a ‘good’ credit score in Australia is anything above 661.

If your credit score is low, and you are worried that you will be rejected for a loan application, then it’s important to remember that it can improve with time. The more you demonstrate responsible financial behaviour – paying bills and credit card statements on time and so on – the more your credit score can improve. Reducing the limit on any credit cards you hold can be another strategy for improving your credit score over time. If you want to know more, Canstar has a list of strategies to improve your credit score.

If you believe your credit score is lower than it should be because of an error in your credit report, then there are ways you can go about correcting this. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) recommends that you first contact the relevant credit provider – that is, the bank, organisation or retailer who you believe is responsible for the error – and enquire about the dispute. The OAIC also says that you can contact a credit reporting body (Equifax for example) and request that they correct your credit-related personal information.

The Australian government’s Moneysmart says that some companies may try to charge you to remove mistakes from your credit report, however, it’s important to know that you can get errors fixed for free by yourself.

You can fix errors by credit reporting agencies by contacting the agency directly, an errors by providers (who have given incorrect information) by contacting them.

If a provider refuses to have incorrect information removed from your credit report, you can make a complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (ACFA) and request dispute resolution.

Moneysmart notes that you can only have error removed from your credit report, and cannot remove any information that it’s correct, even if it’s negative.

If you do plan on dealing with a credit repair company, then it’s important to make sure they are licensed, which you can do by checking the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC’) website.

When you sign up to Canstar’s Free Credit Score Tool, you become one of our credit score users. You will see your refreshed credit score score when you view it within the refresh availability period. A credit score refresh is available once every 30 days. This is a soft enquiry on your credit report and does not impact your score, however, it may be visible on your credit report.

If you would like any assistance with this process or run into any difficulties, please reach out to enquiries@canstar.com.au and let us know.

If you find that your credit report contains loans or debts you didn’t sign up for, then it’s possible you may be a victim of fraud or identity theft. If you believe you have fallen victim to this, then it’s important to change your passwords and contact your financial institution to let them know. You may also need to cancel cards linked to your accounts and have them reissued. You can also contact ICDARE, Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service, by calling 1800 595 160 or visiting them online.

If you default on a payment for a utility or credit card bill, or a on a loan repayment, then your provider may report this to credit agencies. The Australian government’s Moneysmart says that providers can report defaults if the amount owed is $15o or more, if they are unable to contact you, if 60 days or more have passed since the due date, and if they have asked you to pay the debt either over the phone or in writing.

Your credit score is calculated based on the information contained in your credit report. Credit agencies will consider factors including current and former loans you’ve had, applications you’ve made for loans or credit products, and your history of repayments. If you have made relatively few loan applications and pay your bills on time, this could be reflected in a higher credit score; on the other hand, if you have made frequent loan applications and have a history of late repayments or defaults, your credit score is likely to be negatively affected.