Your credit file is a record of information that creditors utilise to assess you during the credit application process for credit. It is maintained by credit reporting bureau. In Australia this service of offered by Veda Advantage and Dun & Bradstreet. These credit reporting agencies are required to comply with privacy laws in dealing with the information that it maintains.
The giving of a Debt Agreement proposal constitutes an Act of Bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act and after acceptance of the proposal for processing by ITSA, it is recorded in the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII). The credit reporting agencies will use the information on the NPII to advise any enquiring creditors that you have proposed a Debt Agreement and / or are presently subject to a Debt Agreement. This will be recorded on your credit rating for a period of seven years after which time it will usually be deleted.
Accordingly, your ability to obtain future credit is likely to be affected by entering into a Debt Agreement, or alternatively you may be charged a higher rate of interest for any credit facilities you establish.
If you have had difficulty in repaying your debts or are falling behind in repayments, your credit file may already be affected and entering a Debt Agreement may be more favourable to outstanding writs, defaults and / or bankruptcy being listed on your file.