Common time limits for keeping credit information

a payment made more than 60 days late that a creditor took action to enforce	5 years from the date the reporting agency was advised
a cheque of $100 or more that has been dishonoured twice	5 years from the date of the second dishonouring
court judgments	5 years from the date the order was made
bankruptcy	7 years from the date of the bankruptcy
a serious credit infringement (eg, fraud)	7 years from the date the reporting agency was advised

In many cases, a credit provider or credit reporting agency that breaches the obligations outlined above may be guilty of an offence. In addition to the Act, the Code of Conduct determined by the Privacy Commissioner must be followed by all credit providers and credit reporting agencies [Privacy Act 1988 ss 18A,18B].

Complaints about possible breaches of the Act or the Code of Conduct, or generally about the conduct of credit reporting agencies or credit providers, can be made in writing or by telephoning the Privacy Commissioner, see contact points.