Every month, the lenders you have credit accounts with send a status code to Australia’s credit bureaus. That code records one thing: whether you paid on time or not.
This is called Repayment History Information – RHI. It is one of the most actively updated parts of your credit file, and under Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR), it is now one of the most influential factors in how your credit score moves over time.
This post covers exactly what RHI is, what each status code means, which lenders are required to report it, how long each entry stays on your file, and how consistent on-time payments actively build your score. CCR as a broader system is covered separately – this post focuses specifically on how RHI works within it.
✅ Key Takeaways
- RHI is a monthly status code reported by lenders to credit bureaus – recording whether each repayment was made on time or not
- Codes run from 0 (on time) to 6 (150+ days late) – even a code of 1 (14 days late) carries real weight on your file
- Banks, credit card providers, and loan lenders must report RHI – telcos and utilities do not
- Each RHI entry stays on your file for 2 years – lenders see a rolling 24-month window of your payment behaviour
- Every on-time payment is now a positive data point – consistent RHI actively builds your score over time
- From June 2025, BNPL providers operating under the NCCP Act can report RHI – though not all do yet
What RHI Is – The Monthly Payment Status Code System
Repayment History Information is the record of your repayment behaviour on credit accounts, reported to credit bureaus by lenders on a monthly basis. For each credit account you hold, your lender submits a single status code every month that tells the bureau whether your repayment was made on time or how late it was.
On your credit report, this appears as a grid – a row of monthly codes for each credit account, stretching back up to 24 months. Each cell in that grid is one month, one account, one code.
RHI is distinct from other entries on your credit file. A default is a formal listing triggered when a debt goes significantly overdue and the creditor takes steps to record it. A credit enquiry is recorded when you apply for credit. A court judgment is a legal record. RHI is none of those things – it is simply the ongoing, month-by-month record of whether you are meeting your repayment obligations.
Why RHI matters: It is the most frequently updated part of your credit file. Every single month, new codes are added for every credit account you hold. That makes it the most live reflection of your current financial behaviour – and the part of your file that responds fastest to both good and bad habits.
What Each RHI Code Means
The RHI status code scale runs from 0 to 6. Each number represents how many days late – or not late – a repayment was in a given month.
| Code | What It Means | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Paid on time – no amount overdue | Positive – builds score |
| 1 | 14 or more days late | Negative – visible to lenders |
| 2 | 30 or more days late | Negative – material score impact |
| 3 | 60 or more days late | Negative – significant score impact |
| 4 | 90 or more days late | Negative – serious score impact |
| 5 | 120 or more days late | Negative – severe score impact |
| 6 | 150 or more days late | Negative – most severe RHI impact |
A few things worth understanding clearly about how these codes work in practice.
On time means by the due date – not the statement date. Your credit card statement might be issued on the 1st of the month, with a due date on the 21st. The RHI code reflects whether the minimum repayment was received by the 21st. Paying on the 22nd is technically late. Paying on the 5th of the following month is a code 1.
A code of 1 carries real weight. Fourteen days late might feel minor. On your credit file, it is recorded identically to being 29 days late – both are a code 1. And a code 1 is a negative marker visible to every lender who pulls your file for the next 2 years. It is not ignored. Lenders reviewing your repayment history grid will see it.
The recording is binary at each threshold: on time, or not on time. Being one day past the 14-day mark is recorded the same way as being 28 days past it. The code jumps at each threshold – it does not scale proportionally between them.
Which Lenders Are Required to Report RHI
Not every organisation that bills you monthly is required to report RHI. Understanding who does and who does not report is important – it directly determines which of your payment habits are being tracked on your credit file.
Lenders Required to Report RHI
Under Australian credit reporting law, the following are required to participate in RHI reporting:
- Banks and authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs)
- Credit card providers
- Home loan lenders
- Personal loan lenders
- Car finance and asset finance providers
Organisations That Do NOT Report RHI
The following are not required to report monthly repayment history under RHI rules:
- Telecommunications providers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, etc.)
- Utility providers (electricity, gas, water)
- Council rates and government charges
A missed phone bill or an overdue electricity account will not generate an RHI code on your credit file. It can still result in a default being listed if the debt goes far enough overdue – but that is a separate type of entry, not an RHI code.
BNPL – The June 2025 Update
From 10 June 2025, Buy Now Pay Later providers – Afterpay, Zip, Klarna, humm and others – began operating under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. This brings them into the credit reporting framework.
BNPL providers that participate in CCR can now report RHI. However, not all BNPL providers have implemented full RHI reporting yet. The position is evolving – some report enquiries only, some report both enquiries and repayment history.
The practical implication: treat BNPL repayments with the same discipline as a credit card. Whether or not your specific provider is currently reporting RHI, the regulatory framework now permits it – and that will only expand over time.
Practical implication: The accounts most Australians set and forget – credit cards, home loans, personal loans, car finance – are exactly the ones generating RHI codes every month. These are also the accounts most suitable for direct debit automation. Setting up automatic minimum repayments on every credit account removes the risk of a code 1 appearing simply because you forgot.
How RHI Is Recorded and For How Long
RHI is reported on a monthly cycle. Each month, for each credit account you hold with a participating lender, one status code is submitted to the credit bureaus. That code reflects your repayment behaviour for that month.
Each individual RHI entry remains on your credit file for 2 years from the date it was recorded. The file does not hold a single summary – it holds a rolling grid of individual monthly entries, each with its own 2-year clock.
What this looks like in practice:
A lender reviewing your credit file today sees up to 24 months of monthly RHI codes for each of your credit accounts. The grid might show 24 consecutive zeros – 24 months of on-time payments. Or it might show a cluster of higher codes from 18 months ago, followed by zeros since then. Or a mix across multiple accounts.
As each month passes, the oldest entry drops off and a new one is added. The window is always rolling – always showing the most recent 24 months.
The most recent 6 to 12 months of RHI carry the most weight in lender assessments. Recent behaviour matters more than older behaviour within the 2-year window. A cluster of late payments from 20 months ago, followed by 20 months of zeros, tells a different story than the reverse.
| RHI Entry Type | How Long It Stays on File | Reporting Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Code 0 (on time) | 2 years from date recorded | Monthly |
| Code 1-6 (late) | 2 years from date recorded | Monthly |
| Full RHI window visible to lenders | Rolling 24 months | Updated each month |
How Positive RHI Actively Builds Your Score Over Time
Before CCR, Australian credit reports only recorded negative events. Missed payments, defaults, court judgments. If you had spent years paying every credit account on time, none of that showed up. Your file was silent on positive behaviour.
RHI changed that. Now, every code 0 is a positive data point – recorded, stored, and visible to lenders and credit bureaus. On-time payments are no longer invisible. They are being counted.
How the Compounding Effect Works
Six months of clean RHI is better than none. Twelve months is better than six. Twenty-four months of consecutive code 0 entries across multiple accounts is a strong positive signal – one that carries real weight in how bureaus calculate your score and how lenders assess your application.
The improvement is not linear. The score benefit of each additional month of clean RHI compounds over time, particularly in the first 12 months. Borrowers who go from zero positive RHI history to 12 months of clean history often see the most significant score movement in that period.
Positive RHI Provides Context Around Older Negatives
If your file contains older negative entries – late payment codes from 18 months ago, for example – a strong run of recent code 0 entries provides context. It tells a lender that whatever caused those late payments, your recent behaviour is different.
Lenders do not look at a single number in isolation. They look at your file as a story. A file that shows three late payments from 20 months ago followed by 20 months of perfect on-time payments is read very differently from a file where the late payments are recent. Consistent positive RHI is how you write the second half of that story.
The Direct Link Between RHI and Rate Tiers
As covered in our post on how your credit score affects your interest rate, lenders use score tiers to set the rate they offer you. RHI is one of the most heavily weighted inputs into that score.
A 24-month clean repayment record across multiple accounts is a meaningful positive signal to both the credit bureau calculating your score and the lender reviewing your file. It is one of the most reliable paths to moving from one rate tier to the next – and the dollar savings that come with it.
If you want to understand what your RHI currently looks like and what it means for a loan application, checking all three credit reports – Equifax, Experian, and Illion – gives you the complete picture. Each bureau may hold slightly different data depending on which lenders report to which bureau.
Checking your own report is a soft enquiry and has zero impact on your score. How to dispute an incorrect RHI entry, and the full steps to improve your score, are covered in dedicated posts.
Want to See What Your RHI Looks Like Right Now?
At Easy Credit Repair, we review your full credit file across all three bureaus and give you a clear picture of what lenders are seeing – including your repayment history grid, any negative codes, and what can realistically be done about them.
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Kuldeep Singh
Founder, Easy Credit Repair
Kuldeep Singh founded Easy Credit Repair after more than 17 years working across the Australian financial services industry. He’s seen firsthand how a credit file error, an incorrectly listed default, or a misunderstood score can quietly derail someone’s financial plans – sometimes for years.
His approach to credit repair is grounded in Australian Credit Law, consumer rights, and straight-up honesty about what’s achievable and what isn’t. No inflated promises. No quick-fix tactics that create problems down the track.
The firm works with clients across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Tasmania.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on publicly available research, current Australian legislation, and our own views. It is general in nature and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Credit reporting rules, lender requirements, and bureau practices can change. If you have questions specific to your circumstances, please reach out to us or seek independent advice.