Finance Company

Since 1 November 1996, the Consumer Credit Code has governed all credit transactions taking place in Australia. This means you have the same standard coverage wherever you live and however you use credit. A credit provider is defined as any business that provides finance to purchase goods, services or land, or to lease goods. If you buy a good, a service or land now and pay a charge for it later then you are being provided with credit. If you pay a business for credit and use it mainly for personal, household or domestic purposes, you are covered by the Consumer Credit Code. Amongst other things, this means that banks, building societies, credit unions, finance companies and businesses must tell you what your rights and obligations are in any credit arrangement. They are required by law to truthfully disclose all relevant information about your credit arrangement in a written contract. This includes interest rates, fees, commissions and other information which in the past was hidden.

Go to the National Consumer Credit Code web site to download the Code (see index at left of that page for a printer friendly version)

The National Consumer Credit Code web site also has information on how the code operates in your state or territory. Go to it.

To make a privacy-related complaint about a credit provider, contact the Privacy Commissioner ( further information about the Privacy Commissioner on our site).

To make a general complaint about a credit provider, contact your state or territory Consumer Affairs / Fair Trading / Consumer Protection department.

If the credit provider is a bank, you can also contact the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman (BFSO) . Go to information on our site about the BFSO.