ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64

Explanatory Statement

ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64

This is the Explanatory Statement for ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64 (Amending Instrument).

The Explanatory Statement is approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Summary

1. ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64 (Amending Instrument) makes amendments to ASIC Credit (Mandatory Credit Reporting) Instrument 2021/541 (Instrument 2021/541).

Purpose of the instrument

2. Instrument 2021/541 determines five kinds of account as not being eligible credit accounts pursuant to section 133CO of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Credit Act).  The Amending Instrument adds accounts created solely for testing new products as a sixth category of account determined under section 5 of Instrument 2021/541.

3.  Credit providers do not need to supply credit information for these types of accounts, provided:

(a) the account is not offered or made available to the general public; and

(b) the account is only offered to individuals involved in the testing the product with the credit provider; and

(c) the account is one of no more than 250 accounts created as part of the product testing; and

(d) the term of the account is for a period of no more than 6months.

4. Exempting these types of accounts will limit the regulatory burden on credit providers during the first six months of controlled testing where, in the specified conditions, reporting does not serve a necessary transparency purpose.

5. The Amending Instrument also makes minor technical and typographical amendments to Instrument 2021/541.

Operation of subsection 133CO(2)

6.  Subsection 133CO(2) of the Credit Act provides that ASIC may, by legislative instrument, determine one or more kinds of accounts which are not eligible credit accounts.

7.  ASIC is expected to exercise this power to allow flexibility to respond to new and emerging products and offerings where, in the case of mandatory reporting, it is not necessary to ensure transparency within the mandatory regime and where mandatory reporting may impose a disproportionate regulatory burden (see paragraphs [1.132]-[1.136] of the Explanatory Memorandum to the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mandatory Credit Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2019).

Consultation

8. In November and December 2025, ASIC conducted a targeted consultation with credit providers and industry associations on our proposal to update Instrument 2021/541.

9.  ASIC received six substantive submissions in response to the targeted consultation. All submissions were supportive of ASIC’s proposal to update Instrument 2021/541 and most agreed to extend the relief for five years. Most submissions indicated that the five currently determined accounts should be preserved, with some submissions recommending inserting additional categories of accounts. In response, ASIC has added one additional account category into section 5 of Instrument 2021/541 and has made other minor technical and typographical amendments.

Operation of the instrument

10. Section 1 of the Amending Instrument provides its name.

11.  Section 2 of the Amending Instrument provides that it commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

12. Section 3 of the Amending Instrument provides that it is made under subsection 133CO(2) of the Credit Act.

13. Section 4 of the Amending Instrument provides that the instrument specified in the Schedule (i.e. Instrument 2021/541) is amended as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

14. Schedule 1 amends section 4 of Instrument 2021/541 by:

1.        defining ‘Act’ to mean the Credit Act in the definitions; and
2.       making two technical amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 definitions to accord with legislative changes.

15. Schedule 1 amends section 5 of Instrument 2021/541 by:

1.        making one consequential amendment to accord with the amendment made under subsection 14(a);
2.       making two typographical corrections to paragraphs 5(c) and (e) to add clarity; and
3.        adding product testing accounts as an additional category of account.

16.  Schedule 1 amends the repeal date under section 6 of Instrument 2021/541 so that it sunsets on 1 October 2031.

Legislative instrument and primary legislation 

17. The subject matter and policy implemented by the instrument is more appropriate for a legislative instrument rather than primary legislation because:

1.        It uses a specific power granted by Parliament to ASIC, which allows ASIC to modify or affect supply obligations under the mandatory comprehensive credit reporting regime in the Credit Act.
2.       The matters contained are appropriately used to deal with specific, technical and machinery issues and are designed to ensure that the application of primary legislation remains flexible to keep pace with future technological developments. As a consequence, if the matters in the instrument were to be inserted into the primary legislation, they would insert, into an already complex statutory framework, a set of exclusions that are highly specific in nature and may become redundant over time.

Duration of the instrument

18. The Amending Instrument will be repealed under section 48A of the Legislation Act 2003.

Legislative authority

19. The Amending Instrument is made under:

1.        subsection 133CO(2) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009; and
2.       subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

20.  The Amending Instrument is a disallowable legislative instrument under the Legislation Act 2003.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights 

21. The Explanatory Statement for a disallowable legislative instrument must contain a Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights under subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is in the Attachment.

Attachment

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

This Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.  

ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64

Overview

1.              ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2026/64 (Amending Instrument) makes amendments to ASIC Credit (Mandatory Credit Reporting) Instrument 2021/541 (Instrument 2021/541). These changes include technical amendments to update the definitions and other minor typographical corrections.
2.              The Amending Instruments also adds an additional category of account into section 5 of Instrument 2021/541. Accounts created solely for product testing are determined as not an eligible credit account. Under the specified conditions, credit providers do not need to supply mandatory credit information for these kinds of accounts to credit reporting bodies. This aims to limit the regulatory burden on credit providers, where reporting does not serve a necessary transparency purpose during the first six months of controlled testing.
3.              The Amending Instrument updates Instrument 2021/541 so that is sunsets at the start of 1 October 2031.

Assessment of human rights implications

4.  The Amending Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

5. The Amending Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.