illion Credit Protect allows you to access your credit report information via a secure online portal. You will also receive email notifications to alert you when certain changes occur on your credit file.

To register for illion Credit Protect:

1. Click here to go to the registration form.
2. Enter your email address, password and unique token. Please note that your unique, single use token can only be used to set up one Credit Protect user.
3. Complete your information, and activate your account to see your credit report and to monitor your credit information.

The unique sign-up token you received is only valid for one-time use to set up one Credit Protect user.

Ensure you have entered the unique token characters correctly. If it does not work, please contact the institution who provided you with this unique token.

A New Zealand passport or driver's licence is the most common form of identification, so we use these to authenticate your registration.

You can still register manually (without any of these forms of ID) by selecting the option “None of the above” as the Proof of ID type upon registration and supplying documents online.

Your credit information is made up of details about your credit activity that is supplied to illion by credit providers such as banks, financial institutions and utilities.

Your credit information includes your history of credit enquiries, any defaults, court judgments and how much credit you have (such as a mortgage or credit cards), as well as some repayment information and your credit score.

Your credit score is generally a number between 0 and 1,000 and indicates how credit-worthy you are and how likely you are to pay your bills on time. Your credit score is used by banks and other lenders when you apply for credit.

If you find something on your credit report that you think is incorrect, you can raise a correction request via the ‘Help’ section available under your profile details on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

illion is a long-established credit reporting body that's been operating in Australia since 1887. We have a large team of people collecting information directly from companies you do business with, such as banks and utility companies.

Credit providers such as banks, telcos and utility companies want to know that customers have a good track record and are likely to pay their bills on time. credit reporting bodies like illion collect this information to help these companies make better informed decisions about lending.

You can read more about credit reporting agencies and your rights and privacy here.

You can help protect yourself against the risks of identity theft by staying on top of your credit information.

Suspicious entries in relation credit enquiries or new credit accounts or changes to your personal information that are not made by you should be investigated promptly. It's a good idea to check your credit report regularly so you can identify changes, errors or suspicious activity.

The Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2004 gives you the request that a credit reporting agency, such as illion, suppress or freeze your credit information if you believe you are at risk of identity fraud. For more information and steps to suppress your consumer credit file, please click here.

To lodge a request to have your credit file suppressed please click here.

If you've never applied for credit, you probably won't have a credit score. However, the majority of people have a credit history and credit score.

If you're under 18, you're more likely to not have a credit score, as you need to have had a credit card, utility account or similar, which doesn't usually happen until you're an adult.

A zero score
If you have a score of zero, there's something negative on your file, such as a payment default. You might have a court judgment or bankruptcy. But you don't need something that drastic to push your score down – even late payments look really bad to companies you want to get credit from. You probably have a few credit enquiries on your file, which means you've applied for credit and may have been declined.

As you build up a good credit history your score will change to reflect this. Unfortunately there's no magic bullet and you will need to work at this over the next two years or more.

A low score: 1 - 299
If you're here you probably have payment defaults or other negative data on your file).

If you don't have defaults or other negative data such as a bankruptcy, then you may have a poor payment history (for example, late payments). You could also have a high number of credit enquiries, especially recent ones and for small amounts. This is likely to mean you've applied for credit and been declined.

Room for improvement: 300 - 499
If your score is between 300 and 499, it still needs improving, but you probably won't have anything really negative (defaults, late payments, judgments, ) on your file.

It could be that you are in the younger age bracket, which lenders see as a bit riskier, and you may have recently applied for one or more smaller credit facilities or to credit providers that offer services to higher risk customers.

Good: 500 - 699
A score like this means there's probably not much information available about your credit history, which probably means there's nothing significantly negative.

It could also mean that your good history with your current credit provider is not yet being reported.

Your score could also be impacted by your age or where you live - your credit score is generally higher the older you get.

Great: 700-799
If this is you, you're probably paying your bills on time, but you might have a number of credit enquiries or applications for loans against your name. You might also be fairly new to credit, which means your credit history might not be long enough to put you in the 'excellent' category.

Excellent: 800-1000
Scoring in this range will often be associated with being in the older age groups, having been fairly disciplined with your credit applications , having a mortgage and/or an investment property. Constantly and consistently making payments on time throughout your credit history has a big impact on your score as well.

You can end up with a low score for many reasons, such as if you fail to pay your bills, if you pay them late, if you apply for credit too often or even if your partner defaults on a debt that was in joint names.

Your score is determined by how you pay your bills. People who have clear evidence of paying their bills on time will have higher credit scores than people who regularly pay their bills late or not at all.

Here are some ways you can improve your score:

• Make sure you check out your full credit history to ensure what's there is correct.
• Make sure you pay any credit products or bills on time - you can set up automatic transfers or direct debits to make sure you don't.
• Put a plan together with the credit provider or collection agency handling it to pay it back.
• Adjust your need for credit and spending for the next few years building up a good history of not requiring credit.
• Put some time into establishing a budget, use a prepaid mobile, and try to save for items rather than using credit.

There are a few reasons why your credit score can change, even though it doesn't look like anything has changed in your credit history.

Some of the reasons your credit score may change include:

1. Since data is only held on your credit file for a certain amount of time, information can ‘drop off' your credit file as it gets older, which can change your credit score.
2. How old your credit information is can also have an effect on your score – for example, a recent loan enquiry is more relevant than one you made four years ago.
3. Credit providers sending monthly payment data to a credit bureau can also affect your score, as changes in the payment status of your account(s) happen. Even if you've been paying on time, the length of time you've been up to date could have an influence on your score.

Using illion Credit Protect to check your credit score and see your credit history has no impact on your credit score.

Credit alerts will be sent to you via e-mail, to the e-mail address linked to your Credit Protect account. You may wish to add Credit Protect to the safe sender list in your mailbox.

Upon receiving a credit alert e-mail, log in to the Credit Protect portal to review the relevant section in your credit report. Suspicious entries in relation to credit enquiries or new credit accounts or changes to your personal information that are not made by you should be investigated promptly. It's a good idea to check your credit report regularly so you can identify changes, errors or suspicious activity.

When you apply for credit (such as with a bank, telco, insurance company or utility company), they'll obtain your permission to access your credit history (this is usually in their terms and conditions).

You can read more about who can access your credit report and under what conditions here.

Your credit reporting information is secured via advanced security systems. It's encrypted at rest and in transport.

By creating an account with illion Credit Protect, you are allowing us to verify who you are and then provide you with a means of viewing your credit information securely. This will allow you to monitor changes over time. You can read our terms of use here.

No. When you log into illion Credit Protect you're asked to identify yourself with a series of questions that only you will know the answers to, such as past addresses and your driver's licence number. We will securely verify that information before granting access.

If you find something on your credit report that you think is incorrect, you can raise a correction request via the ‘Help’ section available under your profile details on the top right-hand corner of the screen.

If you have a complaint relating to illion’s handling of your personal information or service provided by illion please refer to our Complaints Handling Procedure page here, this page includes the on-line form to raise your complaint.