Debt Agreements are very closely monitored by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) to ensure that Debt Agreement Administrators, creditors, and also you, the debtor, are adhering to the strict regulations concerning personal insolvency. There are rules concerning how often you can enter into one and restrictions on gaining credit whilst you are in one, and so there are records kept to ensure that these rules are being followed.

The first and foremost record is kept on a government register called the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII). Every act of insolvency that one makes is recorded here, and it is continually updated to show the status of the act, for example, it will show if you have merely lodged a Debt Agreement proposal, or if one is currently subject to it, or if and when you have completed your agreement. This NPII record is a permanent one. You will find, though, that it rarely gets looked at, as one has to pay a fee to be able to do so. If the banks were to look at this every time someone applied for credit, it would cost them a lot of money.

The second record is kept on your credit file, which draws its information from the NPII. When your arrangement, be it a Debt Agreement, Personal Insolvency Agreement, or Bankruptcy, is lodged, accepted, and subsequently completed, the NPII is updated by AFSA, which in turn updates your credit file. Unlike the NPII, however, the record on your credit file is not a permanent one – it is completely removed from your file after a period of at least five years (unless if the agreement runs longer than 5 years).

If you are concerned about the effect that a Debt Agreement might have on your record, call us at Debt Agreement Advice Centre on 1800 653 485.  Our team at the Debt Agreement Advice Centre has been administering Debt Agreements for over 7 years, and can give you accurate and impartial advice on the effects of a Debt Agreement and how they might be relevant to you.