How Do Non-residents Check Their Credit Score in Australia?
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To get a personal loan, home loan, or car loan, non-residents in Australia need an excellent credit score. However, they first need to get a credit score check to see what score they have and how they can improve their credit.
Continue reading our credit score guide for non-residents in Australia to learn what credit bureaus and credit provider services they can use, what their ideal credit score should be, what they can find in their credit report, and more.
What should a non-resident's credit score be?
A non-resident in Australia should aim for a credit score between 700 and 800. With a score in this bracket, they are eligible for various loans, including personal loans, home loans, car loans, and more.
To get the best deals on loans and mortgages, a non-resident should have a credit score of at least 1000.
There are multiple ways for expats to improve their credit scores; some of the ways include:
- Make sure you have an excellent repayment history by making timely payments and repayments.
- You should make sure your credit utilisation is low. Credit utilisation is the amount of your credit limit you use per month. Overusing your credit limit will lower your credit score and make lenders trust you less.
- Check your credit report for misinformation or errors and report them so you don’t get a lower credit score.
- Keep old accounts open to maintain a vast credit history.
What can you find in a credit report?
To learn how to maintain a high credit score, you need to know what is on a credit report. Here are the five key pieces of information you will find on a credit report.
- On the Personal Information page, you will find your name, date of birth, current employers, past employers, current address, past address and tax identification number. In this section, you need to scan for errors and report them to maintain a high credit score.
- The Credit History of your opened accounts appears on your credit report. You will be able to see the date of your account opening, its closing date, your credit limit, your monthly balance each month, and your payment history.
- Credit Inquiries are a record of a third party looking at your credit report; these third parties can include a mortgage lender, a credit card company, an insurance agent, a landlord, a service provider, and more. These can result in your credit score lowering.
- Public Records are pieces of information you don’t want to see on your credit report because they will dramatically lower your credit score and can stay on your credit score for ten years. These public records can include bankruptcies, civil judgements, tax liens, etc.
- Personal Statements aren’t essential on a credit report, but they can provide clarity and context to the other sections of the report. However, a personal statement will not affect your credit score.
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What should a non-resident look for in a credit report?
Keeping a high credit score is critical for a non-resident in Australia, so they must know what to check on a credit report. Non-residents need to survey the personal information section; any errors you don’t report can result in a low credit score.
The other most crucial element for a non-resident to check on a credit report is their credit history. Specifically, you need to look at your credit utilisation level; you should check your credit utilisation habits to see how you can improve and increase your credit score.
What credit provider services can non-residents use to check their credit score in Australia?
Before checking their credit score and gaining a credit report, non-residents in Australia must find an excellent credit bureau to perform a credit check.
We will detail three top credit bureaus (Equifax, Illion and Experian) and show what services they provide and what sets them apart.
Additionally, we look at three free credit providers (Getcreditscore, Clearscore and Creditsavvy) and see what they offer and if they are better options for non-residents than a credit bureau.
Equifax
Equifax is one of the largest global credit bureaus; they can collect a vast selection of financial information about you, like your current credit arrangements (and past credit arrangements), and create a detailed credit check to give you an accurate credit score.
Equifax’s top features
Here are the top features that Equifax can provide for non-residents:
- They give you a credit score number, and they also give you a credit rating to clearly show you the state of your credit score.
- They also provide you with a detailed credit report containing your credit history, previous credit inquiries and more. The credit report goes back six years to show your detailed credit history.
- They provide you with a knowledge centre to tell you how they calculate the credit score.
- They also support financially vulnerable people, such as an expat with a limited credit history. It can also help those with poor financial history or a long-term health problem.
How costly is Equifax?
Equifax has a 30 day free trial for first-time users. However, it has a $7.95 monthly subscription after the trial period.
Illion
Illion is a successful credit bureau in Australia and New Zealand. They offer many services, including marketing optimisation software and marketing analytics software. They also provide a free credit check service with a free credit score.
Illions key features
Here are the top features of the Illion credit check service:
- It’s completely free to use.
- It has a quick and easy sign-up process.
- Illion protects your information; you don’t need to worry about the service being free.
- The credit report format is straightforward and uncomplicated.
Experian
Like Equifax, Experian is a massive credit bureau worth over 3 billion as of 2021. They offer their customers a detailed credit report (personal details, financial history, etc.) with an accurate credit score.
In addition, Experian collects your personal information, existing credit agreements and any debt problems you have to create a detailed and precise credit report.
Experian top features
Here are the top features that Experian can provide for all their customers, including non-residents.
- They can provide customers with a credit score boost for free (they are the only major credit bureau that does this free of charge). The Experian Boost function scans your financial history to check if you make payments on time (subscription payments, loan repayments, etc.).
- You can view your credit score and your credit rating with a free Experian account.
- They also have an identity checker to check if someone else online uses your identity. It can provide customers with a daily report (to tell you if someone is using your identity) and give you advice and support with fraud.
- As well as creating credit reports, Experian can create guaranteed rates for loans and provide pre-approval for loans.
How costly is Experian?
You don’t have to pay Experian to view your credit score; you can view your credit score with a free Experian account.
However, if you want a complete Experian account to get a detailed breakdown of your credit score and an extensive credit report, you can access a 30-day free trial and then pay $14.99 per month.
Their identity checker service also comes with a $9.99 charge per month.
Get a free Australian mortgage assessment today.
Getcreditscore
Getcreditscore is a free credit score provider with an accessible website and an easy process.
To get a credit score check, you need to create an account (which can take around 1 minute), verify your identification, confirm your account on your email, and enter your financial information to get a credit score.
Getcreditscore top features
Here are the top features you get when you use Getcreditscore to check your credit score.
- When you get a credit score calculated on Getcreditscore, it won’t lower your credit score.
- It’s completely free to get a credit check and monitor your credit score.
- They provide you with information on your credit score and what it means for your financial future; get a better understanding of how a lender will view your credit file.
- The credit checks have extensive encryption software to protect customer data.
Clearscore
Clearscore is a credit bureau with over 15 million customers. They have a quick and easy credit check process that only takes a few minutes. You can get a credit score check and monitor your credit score on Clearscore.
Clearscore top features
Here are the top features that Clearscore can offer to non-residents in Australia.
- It’s a swift process; it usually lasts around two minutes.
- You can use the service to find deals on personal loans, home loans, car loans and more.
Creditsavvy
Creditsavvy is a quick and easy credit service; it’s quick and easy to sign up and check your credit score. To check your score on Creditsavvy, you need to create an account, verify your ID, and receive and check your credit score.
Creditsavvy top features
Here are the top features Creditsavvy can provide to non-residents in Australia.
- Credit score and credit report tracking are entirely free.
- They include a complete breakdown of your credit score.
- They provide examples of products suitable for your credit score and compare the best ones.
- Includes encryption software and alerts.
How do you check your credit score if you are a non-resident?
In conclusion, there are multiple credit bureaus you can use to check your credit score if you’re a non-resident. The top credit bureaus with the most extensive features are Experian and Equifax. They have comprehensive credit report software and extra features like identity checkers.
However, you can use free credit checkers/ credit reporting bodies that are simple, quick, and provide plenty of information about your credit score. The best free credit checkers are Creditsavvy and Getcreditscore.
Get a free Australian mortgage assessment today.
Frequently asked questions
Non-residents need to survey their credit-related personal information section and amend errors to keep their high credit scores.
Non-residents also need to look at their credit utilisation level and check their credit utilisation habits to see how they can improve and increase their credit score.
How long it takes for a non-resident to build up a good credit score depends on their score at the start. If they have a low score (due to poor credit history, for example), it can take over a year to build to a high score.
You can build to a high score by having a low utilisation level and excellent repayment history.
There are several free credit reporting agencies that non-residents in Australia can use to check their credit scores. These services are completely free and take very little time to use.
Some of the best free credit services include Getcreditscore, Clearscore and Creditsavvy.
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