Under the law, people can access a free copy of their credit report every three months from each of the credit reporting bodies. There are several credit reporting bodies in Australia and they don’t necessarily all have the same information (see list of providers, below). People may find they have a higher credit rating or score with one provider than another.

A credit report will usually have a credit rating or credit score as a summary of a person's information. Credit scores are usually out of 1,000 or 1,200 and generally, the higher the score, the better.

If someone is concerned about their partner’s behaviour and wonder if their personal information might have been used without their consent to get access to credit, it’s a good idea for them to get a copy of their credit report to check if someone has applied for, or taken out, loans in their name.

If you find loans on your credit report that you don’t recognise, you can speak to your credit provider or credit reporting body to query these. However, if you suspect the loans are there because of abusive partner or family member, you may first want to seek advice from a lawyer, community legal centre, or financial counsellor.

A credit report can only be built by having had accounts in your name. If a partner has never let a person have accounts in their name, they may not have a good credit score as they may not have any credit history.

Australian credit reporting bodies

• Illion
• Equifax
• Experian