Written byA credit guide is a prescribed disclosure document that a broker or credit licensee must give a consumer before providing credit assistance, covering licence details, remuneration and complaints handling.
Also known as: credit guide document, broker credit guide, NCCP credit guide
Key points
- The NCCP Act requires it; it is a disclosure, not a contract: who you are dealing with, how they are paid, how to complain.
- It must show the licensee's name and Australian credit licence number, representative details, services, remuneration including volume bonuses and referral fees, and dispute resolution.
- It has to be given before credit assistance is provided, at or before the first substantive discussion of options.
- The licensee stays responsible even when an aggregator or credit representative hands it out.
- ASIC treats failure to give required disclosure as enforceable conduct, with infringement notices, penalties and customer remediation.
What a credit guide must contain
The guide is short but has to cover set ground. It names the credit licensee and its licence number, gives contact details, identifies the representative or broker and their relationship to the licensee, and describes the credit assistance on offer, for example car finance, personal loans or home loan referrals. It then explains remuneration: the fees the customer may pay and the commissions the business may receive from lenders, ideally with indicative ranges.
A credit assistance provider must also name the six credit providers or lessors it does the most business with, say whether it receives a volume bonus, disclose any commission payable to a referrer, and set out its internal complaints process and the external dispute resolution scheme the customer can escalate to. A conflicts of interest note about lender or aggregator relationships and a short privacy statement pointing to the full policy are good practice rather than prescribed content. The guide should be written in plain language and run to a page or two.
Who must give one and when
Anyone whose activities fall within the credit assistance regime: credit licensees, and the brokers and credit representatives acting under them. Where an aggregator sits in the chain, the aggregator and member broker coordinate, but the licence holder remains responsible for making sure the consumer receives it. Lenders give their own credit guide when they deal with borrowers directly.
Timing is the part regulators care about most. Give the guide at or before the first substantive discussion of a customer's options, and always before you recommend a product, take steps to obtain credit or let the customer sign an application. In a face-to-face meeting that means handing over a copy at the outset; on a phone call it means sending a link during the call and confirming in writing. If you are unsure whether an interaction counts as credit assistance, give the guide anyway.
How to deliver it and prove it
Paper, email attachment, website link, SMS link or an in-app screen are all acceptable. What matters is that the customer can read it and that you can prove they received it. Keep email headers and delivery logs, record the URL and timestamp of a download, keep SMS dispatch and click-through logs, and for in-app delivery capture an acknowledgement that is not pre-ticked, records who acknowledged, when, and which version they saw.
Your CRM should carry the guide version, delivery method, date and time, recipient details, the evidence file and the responsible representative. Combining the guide with other documents is allowed only if the credit guide section stays clearly labelled, separately identifiable and delivered at the right trigger point; burying it in long terms and conditions raises the risk of a breach and makes delivery harder to prove.
What happens if it is not given
Failing to give a credit guide attracts ASIC attention, especially where the missing disclosure is part of wider misconduct around remuneration or conflicts. ASIC can issue infringement notices, bring civil penalty proceedings, require remediation and, where non-compliance is systemic, seek banning orders. Where the failure affected a customer's decision, the licensee may have to compensate them.
The practical cost usually exceeds the fine: remediation programs, licence conditions and a heavier compliance workload during investigations. A version-controlled guide, a clear delivery owner for every front-line role and an auditable acknowledgement trail are cheap by comparison.
Example
A customer fills in a web enquiry form on a broker's site about car finance. The form shows a prominent link to the current credit guide and will not submit until the customer ticks an unticked acknowledgement box; the CRM records the guide version, the timestamp and the customer's details. When the broker calls the next day to discuss lenders, the guide has already been given, so the conversation moves straight to the fact-find. Two years later the customer complains to AFCA about the commission, and the broker can show exactly when the customer was told how the business is paid.
Not to be confused with
- Financial services guide (FSG)
- a financial services guide is the equivalent document for financial product advice under a financial services licence; a credit guide covers credit assistance under a credit licence
- Product disclosure statement (PDS)
- a product disclosure statement describes a financial product; a credit guide describes the broker or licensee and how they are paid
- Australian credit licence (ACL)
- the licence is the authorisation to provide credit assistance; the credit guide is the document that tells the customer who holds it
Frequently asked questions
When does a broker have to give a credit guide?
As soon as it is reasonably apparent that the broker will provide credit assistance, which in practice means at or before the first substantive discussion of a customer's options and always before recommending a product or taking steps to obtain credit. If a customer walks in wanting recommendations, the guide is handed over at the start of the meeting.
What must a credit guide include?
The licensee's name and Australian credit licence number, contact details, the representative's name and relationship to the licensee, a description of the credit assistance offered, how the business is paid including fees and commissions, the six credit providers it does the most business with, any volume bonus, commission payable to a referrer, and the internal and external complaints process.
Can a credit guide be sent by email or text message?
Yes. An email attachment or link, an SMS link or an in-app screen all work, provided the customer can read the guide and you keep evidence of delivery: email headers, download logs, SMS dispatch and click records, or an acknowledgement that captures who accepted it, when and which version. Record the delivery in your CRM.
Does a lender have to give a credit guide too?
Yes. Credit providers give their own credit guide when they deal with consumers directly, alongside the pre-contract statement and information statement required by the National Credit Code, plus a key facts sheet for a credit card contract. When a broker is involved, the broker's guide covers the credit assistance and the lender's guide covers the credit contract itself.
What happens if a broker doesn't give a credit guide?
It is a breach of the licensee's disclosure obligations under the NCCP Act. ASIC can issue an infringement notice, bring civil penalty proceedings, impose licence conditions or seek banning orders where the failure is systemic, and customers whose decisions were affected may need to be compensated. Poor disclosure also weakens the broker's position in any AFCA dispute.
Related terms
Australian credit licence (ACL)
An Australian credit licence (ACL) is the authorisation from ASIC that a business needs to provide consumer credit or credit assistance under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Read definitionNCCP Act
The NCCP Act is Australia's National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, the law that licenses credit providers and brokers and sets responsible lending and disclosure rules for consumer credit.
Read definitionResponsible lending obligations
Responsible lending obligations are duties under the NCCP Act that require lenders and brokers to inquire into and verify a consumer's finances and not provide or suggest unsuitable credit.
Read definitionBroker
A broker is a licensed intermediary who connects borrowers with lenders, comparing finance options across a panel of lenders and submitting applications on the borrower's behalf.
Read definitionCommissions
Commissions are payments a lender or product issuer makes to a broker, adviser or referrer for arranging or servicing a financial product, paid upfront, as ongoing trail or both.
Read definitionConsumer credit
Consumer credit is a loan, credit card, consumer lease or other credit provided mainly for personal, household or domestic purposes and regulated by the National Credit Code.
Read definitionGo deeper
Sources
This article is general information only and is not financial advice.