MELBOURNE, Australia, August 11 /PRNewswire/ --     Australians could be set to get cheap credit if the credit report reforms
proposed by the ALRC are acted upon by the Commonwealth Government, says
independent credit checking website, checkmyfile.

Experts at checkmyfile, Australia's online credit checking website,
believe if consumer credit payment records are shared with Australia's credit
agencies, not only will this bring down the cost of Australian credit to UK
and US levels but also ensure injudicious lending is controlled properly.

Barry Stamp of checkmyfile says: "Australian consumers have been paying
much more for their credit than UK and US consumers. This will hopefully
become a thing of the past if the current credit report proposals set out by
the ALRC are acted upon quickly.

The ALRC is backing an increase in the type of data lenders can share
with the credit reference agencies, and have backed the sharing of consumer
payment performance data. "This is proven to be the most valuable data for
spotting consumers falling into financial difficulty, and without it, lenders
cannot lend as responsibly as they could."

Stamp adds: "It is a ludicrous claim by some commentators that giving
lenders access to more comprehensive data will lead to reckless lending.

"To drive down the cost of credit, legislators need to allow lenders to
share credit payment performance data with the credit reference agencies.
Better data means sharper lending decisions, which helps reduce the extensive
costs of debt collecting, which cuts dramatically the cost of credit ".

Checkmyfile has no doubt that sharing more credit report information
about consumers is good for consumers. From its experience in the UK, where
it has been providing online credit reports to consumers since 2000, and
where 'positive' credit reporting is accepted as the norm by both lenders and
consumers.

Even the ALRC proposals would leave Australian credit reporting system
trailing the UK, which has seen an expansion in the information shared with
the credit reference agencies. Recent behavioural changes, which include
records of cash machine withdrawals and minimum payments being made, have
been supported by UK consumer groups as a positive step to combat consumer
over-indebtedness, as they are considered warning signs of over-indebtedness.

"At the moment, Australian lenders and consumers are flying blind,
comparatively speaking," concludes Stamp.

For further information contact richard.goedegebuur@checkmyfile.com.au or
call +61-3-9811-4785 or visit http://www.checkmyfile.com.au