Who Actually Reports RHI – And Which Bills Don’t Show Up On Your Credit File

If you ask most people which bills matter most for their credit score, many will say their phone or electricity bill. Missing one of those feels stressful and urgent. Ironically, those are often not the accounts feeding your Repayment History Information (RHI). The bills that matter most for RHI are usually the ones people set on autopilot and forget about – credit cards, home loans and other credit products.

Under Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR), RHI is the month‑by‑month record of whether you paid your credit accounts on time. Each month, participating credit providers send a status code to the credit bureaus for every eligible account you hold. That code shows whether your repayment was made on time or how late it was, and it builds into a 24‑month grid lenders see when they assess you. But not every organisation you pay has the ability – or the permission – to send those codes.

In Australia, only certain types of lenders can report RHI. These are businesses that provide consumer credit and hold an Australian credit licence. That includes banks, credit unions and licensed finance companies – the ones offering products like home loans, credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and car loans. These are the accounts that show up in your RHI grid: your mortgage, your card accounts, your personal loan, your car finance and similar products.

On the other side, utilities and telcos do not report RHI. Phone, internet, gas and electricity providers cannot share monthly repayment history information with the credit bureaus under the current rules. That means paying your phone bill or power bill on time every month does not generate lines of code 0s on your RHI grid. Likewise, being a few days late on a phone bill does not create a code 1. From an RHI point of view, those accounts are invisible.

This doesn’t mean those bills don’t matter at all. If you fall significantly behind on a telco or utility account and the debt is sent to collections or formally listed, it can still show up as a default on your credit report – a separate, serious entry that can stay for up to five years. But that’s different from RHI. RHI captures ongoing monthly behaviour on licensed credit products; defaults record specific, more serious events when debts go badly overdue.

There’s also the evolving space of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). From 10 June 2025, BNPL providers in Australia are being brought under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, with many required to hold a credit licence and meet responsible lending obligations. Under this framework, some BNPL providers can now report repayment history in a way that looks similar to RHI on other credit products – but not all providers have implemented this yet. The position is still changing. Some BNPL services currently report credit enquiries only, others may report both enquiries and repayment history.

The safe assumption is simple: treat BNPL like any other credit product. If your provider is licensed and plugged into the reporting system, your on‑time payments could help build a positive pattern, while missed payments could become visible to lenders considering you for a mortgage or other loan. Even where RHI is not yet being reported, repeated late payments and overuse of BNPL are increasingly being viewed as risk signals by many lenders.

So, when you zoom out, you get three buckets:

  • RHI‑Reporting Lenders – banks, credit unions and licensed finance companies offering credit cards, personal loans, car loans, mortgages and similar. These feed your month‑by‑month RHI grid.

  • Non‑RHI Providers – telcos and utilities. They don’t report RHI, but serious arrears can still result in defaults that damage your file.

  • BNPL Providers – moving into the regulated credit space. Some can report repayment history; others may not yet, but that is shifting.

The practical implication for your day‑to‑day life is straightforward. The accounts that most directly shape your RHI – and therefore your credit score under CCR – are your credit accounts: your mortgage, credit cards, personal loans and car finance. These are exactly the sorts of accounts that are easy to automate. Setting up direct debits for at least the minimum repayment on every credit facility removes a lot of the risk of accidentally picking up code 1s and higher simply because you forgot a due date.

If you’re not sure which of your accounts are reporting RHI, the best way to find out is to look. Ordering your reports from Equifax, Experian and Illion will show you which credit providers are sending repayment history and what your 24‑month grids look like. We unpack this in more detail in our main guide: Repayment History Information (RHI): How It Works Under CCR, including examples of how the grids are displayed and how long each entry stays visible.

At Easy Credit Repair, we help clients interpret these grids and understand how different lenders are likely to view them. If your reports show late RHI codes on key credit accounts, or you’re worried about how BNPL or older defaults might affect a future home loan application, we can review all three reports and explain what can realistically be done within Australian credit law. You can read more about what we do on our credit repair services page or request a free consultation.

Knowing who actually reports RHI and who doesn’t lets you focus your energy where it counts. Paying all your bills on time is always good discipline – but if you’re trying to actively build your credit profile, the behaviour that matters most for your RHI and your score is how you manage your credit cards, loans and other licensed credit products.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not legal, credit or financial advice. Credit reporting rules, BNPL regulations and lender policies can change over time. You should consider your own circumstances and seek independent, professional advice before making financial decisions.


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