If you're one of the millions of Australians who have been affected by a data breach over the last few years and you're worried about being defrauded, you can place a temporary ban or block on your credit report to limit or prevent any financial damage.
All you have to do is contact one of the 3 major credit bureaus and ask them to freeze your credit file.
The quickest way to place a ban on your credit file is by filling out the request form at one of the 3 major credit bureaus in Australia:
A credit report ban ensures that a credit reporting bureau will not disclose any information from your credit report to a credit provider. It offers a period for any potential fraud to be investigated without the risk of additional damage to your credit score.
This means no one (including you) will be able to apply for a credit card or loan in your name while the credit freeze is active, even if you've been impacted by a data leak. If you wanted to apply for credit yourself, you'd first need to ask the ban to be lifted.
If a credit provider asks a reporting bureau for information while the ban is in place, the reporting bureau will alert the provider about the ban and that you may have been a victim of fraud.
The only way your information could be released during a ban is with your express written permission or if it is mandated by Australian law.
When applying for a ban with one of the bureaus listed above, you can request that they also freeze your credit file with the other 2 bureaus as long as you agree to their terms and conditions.
| Response | |
|---|---|
| No | 95.18% |
| Yes | 4.82% |
You can also apply for a credit freeze by emailing or phoning any of the 3 credit bureaus. You can find the email address and documents you'll need to provide in the table below.
| Provider | Email address | Primary instruction | Documents / information to provide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experian | creditreport@au.experian.com | Subject line: 'Add Ban' |
|
| Equifax | banrequestAu@equifax.com | Subject line: 'Request a ban' |
|
| illion | pac.austral@illion.com.au | Attach: Ban application form |
|
The initial ban period will last for 21 days, no matter which of the 3 bureaus you use (Experian, Equifax and illion).
During the ban period, you can request for it to be extended if you're still worried about identity theft.
The credit bureau is required to extend the freeze if it believes you are vulnerable to fraud and will confirm in writing the length of the extension.
If you wish to remove the ban, you'll need to complete a request form with the credit bureau you placed the ban with.
If you're still concerned at the end of the 21 day ban period, you can request an extension on the ban. You can request an extension as many times as you want and will be informed of any extension in writing.
You will usually have to provide the ACORN (Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network) Report Number or police report number to be granted a ban extension. You can compare the extension periods you can expect from the main credit reporting bodies below.
| Provider | Extension Period |
|---|---|
| Experian | 12 months at a time |
| Equifax | 12 months at a time |
| illion | 12 months at a time |
Nothing – placing a ban on your credit report is free regardless of which credit reporting bureau you use. It'a also free to request an extension to the freeze period.
No, placing a temporary freeze on your report does not affect your score. It won't impact your current credit accounts or repayment responsibilities either.
The only thing it could affect is if you want to apply for new credit while the ban is in place. In that case, you'll have to give written permission for your information to be released to the credit issuer you're applying with. As they may not be able to access your credit report, you may also have to give additional personal information directly to the credit provider.
Any information on your credit file that is found to be fraudulent will be removed from your credit report. Any incorrect information that had already been issued as a result of the fraudulent activity will also be reversed.
The following companies and institutions have been subject to data hacks or breaches over the last few years.
According to the OAIC, there were 527 data breaches in the first half of 2024.2
The most recent notable leak was the MediSecure incident, which compromised the personal health information of almost 13 million Australians
If you were a customer with any of these organisations, it may be worth getting your free credit report and checking if you have been the victim of identity theft.
This list was updated on 14 October 2024.
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