An Australian credit journal
Est. 2014 · Plain-English guides to credit in Australia
Independent · Australian · Plain English
Credit Made Simple is a long-form journal on how credit actually works in Australia: scores and files, cards and loans, hardship rights, and the licences that sit behind the person offering to “help”. We write for readers, not for a product pipeline.
Cover story
The NCCP unsuitability test has a history, a 2020s argument about winding it back, and a present tense that is neither “dead” nor unchanged. SACCs and remaining unsuitability ideas still matter.
CMS Editorial · 16 April 2026
Your file
How Australian credit scores are built, how to read a bureau report, and what actually moves the number.
Revolving credit
Interest-free periods, residual interest, rewards maths, balance transfers and the decision to close a card.
Fixed-term credit
Personal loans, car finance, comparison rates, serviceability and the home-loan levers that change the cost of money.
When money is tight
Missed payments, hardship variations, consolidation, small-amount credit and formal insolvency options.
The rulebook
Credit licences, responsible lending after the reforms, AFCA complaints, and privacy rights on your credit file.
A thin Australian file is a shortage of data, not a moral verdict. New arrivals, young adults and anyone without local consumer credit meet the same mechanics: time, identification, and repayment history that actually reports.
CMS Editorial · 26 March 2026
How a card is closed properly — remaining balance, direct debits, points — and what utilisation and available credit can do to a score. Offsetting a home loan versus keeping a card is a description of two mechanisms, not advice.
CMS Editorial · 11 March 2026
What a SACC is, the well-known 20 per cent plus 4 per cent cost cap, protected earnings, and the cheaper rooms to try before another short loan.
CMS Editorial · 5 March 2026
A paid repair firm can usually do what you can do yourself under the Privacy Act — challenge wrong listings, not erase accurate ones. Upfront fees are a warning sign. A financial counsellor is often the better first call.
CMS Editorial · 4 March 2026
What the Privacy Act and the Credit Reporting Code actually let you do with a file held by Equifax, Experian or illion — access, correction, ban periods, direct marketing and the OAIC.
CMS Editorial · 26 February 2026
When rolling several debts into one loan actually reduces interest, when it only lengthens the term, and why security over a car or a house is not a detail.
CMS Editorial · 11 February 2026
General information only, written for readers in Australia. This is not personal financial, credit or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation to apply for, accept or cancel any product. Credit assistance — suggesting a particular credit contract or acting as an intermediary — is a licensed activity under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth). Credit Made Simple is an editorial publication, not an Australian credit licensee. Check current rules with ASIC, Moneysmart or a licensed adviser before you act.