Too Many Credit Enquiries Australia: How to Remove Them (2026)

Quick Answer: Hard credit enquiries stay on your Australian credit file for 5 years under the Privacy Act 1988. Enquiries you didn't authorise — or enquiries made when you only applied for a quote, not actual credit — can be disputed and removed. Enquiries that were made without your knowledge or consent are unlawful and must be removed. Most lenders become concerned when they see 3 or more hard enquiries within a 12-month period. Removing unauthorised or unlawful enquiries can meaningfully improve your credit score and loan eligibility.

You applied for a few credit products. Got knocked back once or twice. Maybe used a comparison site. Now your credit file shows half a dozen hard enquiries and your score has dropped significantly.

Enquiry accumulation is one of the most misunderstood causes of credit score damage in Australia. This guide covers what's actually happening, what you can do about it, and when enquiries can be legitimately removed.

What Is a Hard Credit Enquiry?

A hard credit enquiry (also called a hard inquiry) is recorded on your credit file when a lender or credit provider accesses your report as part of a credit application assessment. It signals to other lenders that you sought credit — and multiple enquiries in a short period suggest financial stress or credit-seeking behaviour.

Under the Privacy Act 1988, hard enquiries remain on your credit file for 5 years from the date they were made.

The key point: a lender can only make a hard enquiry on your file if you gave consent to a credit check. If you were getting a quote and didn't agree to a full credit assessment, any enquiry made is potentially unlawful.

How Many Credit Enquiries Is Too Many in Australia?

There's no official threshold — lenders set their own policies. But in practice:

The impact compounds if the enquiries are clustered in a short period. Four enquiries in a single month is far more alarming to a lender than four enquiries spread across a year.

When Can a Credit Enquiry Be Removed?

Enquiries can be removed in specific circumstances under Australian law:

1. You didn't authorise the enquiry A credit provider must have your consent before accessing your credit file for an application. If an enquiry appears and you never applied for credit with that organisation, it was made without consent — and is removable.

2. The enquiry was for a quote, not a credit application If you used a comparison website or asked for a rate quote and did not specifically consent to a full credit check, any hard enquiry recorded as a result may be unlawful. Many comparison sites trigger hard enquiries when they shouldn't — this is a known issue in the industry.

3. Duplicate enquiries If a single application resulted in multiple enquiries being recorded — by the same lender or its subsidiaries — the duplicates may be removable as inaccurate entries.

4. Identity fraud If enquiries appear from applications you never made, they were made using your identity fraudulently and must be removed.

5. Enquiries that are inaccurate in other ways Wrong date, wrong creditor name, enquiry attributed to wrong bureau — inaccurate information on your file is challengeable regardless of whether the underlying application was legitimate.

How to Remove Credit Enquiries: Step by Step

1. Get your credit reports from all three bureaus — Equifax, Experian, Illion
2. List every enquiry — the creditor, the date, and the stated purpose
3. For any enquiry you don't recognise: contact the creditor immediately and request the original application form you signed authorising the credit check
4. If they cannot provide a signed application with your consent: lodge a formal dispute with the bureau requesting removal
5. If the bureau doesn't resolve it: escalate to AFCA (for financial firms) or the Privacy Commissioner
6. For comparison site enquiries: contact the site directly and ask for evidence of what consent was given before the hard enquiry was made

Real Case Study: Owen, Brisbane — 7 Enquiries Removed, Home Loan Approved

Owen, 36, was a project manager who'd been shopping for a home loan. He'd used three comparison websites and spoken to two brokers who ran their own credit checks. In total, 9 hard enquiries appeared on his Equifax file in a 4-month period. His score dropped from 694 to 581 — out of the Good band entirely.

He contacted Australian Credit Solutions. We reviewed all 9 enquiries. Two were legitimate and properly consented — one from his eventual broker and one from a direct bank pre-approval. The other 7 were problematic: three comparison sites had run hard enquiries when Owen had only requested quotes and ticked a soft-check-only option on each form; two were duplicate enquiries from a broker who had checked his file twice using different lender portals; two were from a lender he'd never contacted at all.

All 7 were formally disputed. The duplicate enquiries were removed in 14 days. The comparison site enquiries took 28–41 days. The two unauthorised enquiries from the unknown lender were removed in 36 days following an escalation to the Privacy Commissioner.

Owen's Equifax score moved from 581 to 674 — back into the Good band. His home loan application for $480,000 was approved at 6.29%.

He only paid when we succeeded.

Get a free assessment from Australian Credit Solutions →

How to Avoid Enquiry Accumulation in Future

• Never use multiple comparison websites in one session — each may run a hard check
• Ask brokers explicitly: "will this create a hard enquiry on my credit file?"
• Apply to one lender at a time — if rejected, understand why before applying elsewhere
• Get rate quotes without applying — ask specifically for a conditional or indicative rate that doesn't require a credit check
• Check your credit file before any loan application to understand your current enquiry count

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do credit enquiries stay on your credit file in Australia? Hard credit enquiries remain on your Australian credit file for 5 years from the date they were recorded, under the Privacy Act 1988. Soft enquiries — your own checks, employer checks — are either not recorded or not visible to lenders.

Can I remove hard enquiries from my credit file in Australia? Yes — if the enquiry was made without your genuine consent, was a duplicate, was made during a quote process where you didn't authorise a full credit check, or was the result of identity fraud. Enquiries that were legitimately made with your proper consent cannot be removed. A free assessment identifies which of your enquiries fall into the removable category.

How much does an enquiry hurt my credit score in Australia? Each hard enquiry typically reduces your Equifax score by 10–30 points. Multiple enquiries in a short period have a compounding effect. The impact is most severe on thin files (limited credit history) and when combined with other negative entries. The presence of 5+ enquiries within 12 months can trigger automatic declines from many lenders regardless of other file factors.

What's the difference between a hard and soft enquiry? A hard enquiry is recorded when you apply for credit and the lender formally assesses your creditworthiness. It reduces your score and is visible to other lenders. A soft enquiry occurs when you check your own score, an employer runs a check, or a lender pre-screens for offers. Soft enquiries don't affect your score and aren't visible to lenders.

Can comparison websites cause hard enquiries on my credit file? Yes — some comparison websites run hard enquiries when they submit your details to lenders for rate comparisons, even if you only intended to browse. Check the privacy policy and consent terms before submitting any personal information to a comparison site. If a hard enquiry appears from a comparison site where you didn't consent to a credit check, it may be challengeable.

How do I find out what enquiries are on my credit file? Get your free credit reports from all three bureaus — Equifax (equifax.com.au), Experian (experian.com.au), and Illion (creditreport.com.au). Each report lists all enquiries made on your file with the creditor name and date.

Get a Free Enquiry Assessment

A free ACS assessment identifies which enquiries on your file can be legitimately removed — and gives you a clear picture of what score improvement is achievable.

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Related Reading:

• Credit enquiry removal services
• How to improve your credit score Australia
• Credit repair Australia

Australian Credit Solutions Pty Ltd holds Australian Credit Licence ACL 532003. Credit repair services are subject to individual assessment. Results may vary. This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.