Jeff & Moishe — Co-directors
Real broker access · 5.0★ across all reviews · Melbourne-based, Australia-wide
Talk to us →
Most brokers see a default and stop. There's a whole panel of specialist non-bank lenders built for exactly these files — they assess the story behind the mark: what happened, when, whether it's resolved, and what's changed since. We'll also tell you honestly when the answer is "not yet".
Indicative only. Final capacity confirmed with a strategy call.
The majors' credit policy is built for a clean file. Once yours isn't, you're outside it — which is a policy problem, not a judgement about whether you can afford a loan.
Defaults. A default can be listed where an amount of $150 or more is at least 60 days overdue, and only after two written notices — the second at least 30 days after the first. It then stays on your credit file for five years, and paying it does not remove it. The listing is updated to show it as paid, which does matter to a specialist lender's assessment even though it doesn't clear the record.
Arrears and repayment history. Repayment history information stays on your file for two years. Recent arrears weigh more heavily than old ones — which cuts both ways, because a clean recent record is genuinely worth something.
Discharged bankruptcy. Bankruptcy now runs for three years and one day. But three clocks run separately, and this trips people up: discharge is one thing, the credit file listing is another — it stays for the later of five years from the bankruptcy date or two years from discharge — and the National Personal Insolvency Index is a permanent public record. Discharge is not a clean slate, and any broker who tells you it is hasn't checked.
ATO debt. The ATO may report a business tax debt to credit reporting bureaus where the business has an ABN, owes $100,000 or more overdue by more than 90 days, and is not effectively engaging with the ATO. A complying payment plan generally takes you outside those criteria — which is exactly why the order of operations matters. The ATO issues a 28-day notice of intent before it discloses.
Court judgments stay five years. Serious credit infringements stay seven.
The single most common mistake we see is applying first and asking later.
Every application leaves an enquiry on your credit file for five years. A run of enquiries across several lenders reads badly to the next one, and it can turn a file that was marginal into one that's genuinely hard. If your file has something in it, the sequence should be: understand the file, fix what's fixable, choose one lender whose policy fits, apply once.
Sometimes fixable means a payment arrangement with the ATO before an application rather than after. Sometimes it means waiting four months for a default to age past a lender's threshold. Sometimes it means nothing needs fixing and you've been assuming the worst.
We'd rather spend an hour working that out than spend six months undoing an avoidable enquiry trail.
Before we do anything else, get your credit report. You're entitled to a free copy from each credit reporting body. It's common for people to be wrong about what's actually on theirs — both ways. We've seen clients braced for a decline whose file was clean, and clients confident of approval who had a listing they'd forgotten.
Real broker access. Real strategy. Real outcomes.
Which lenders read history and which read a score. Where a paid default sits differently to an unpaid one. What a lender does with a two-year-old arrangement versus a current one.
One application, to the right lender, at the right time — instead of four hopeful ones.
If the answer is wait, you'll hear wait, with the reason and the timeline attached.
Business downturns, illness, divorce, a partner who didn't pay what they said they'd pay. We've seen the circumstances behind these files and we're not here to editorialise about them.
Four clear steps, with an exit plan back to mainstream pricing.
We look at your actual credit report together and establish what's really there.
What's fixable now, what needs time, and what's already fine.
One lender, chosen on policy fit rather than hope.
With an exit plan — most specialist loans should be refinanced to mainstream pricing once the file has aged. We'll set the review date at settlement.
30 minutes with Jeff or Moishe. Bring your credit report. We'll tell you plainly what's possible and when.
Jump into our live booking calendar and lock in a 30-minute strategy call with Jeff or Moishe — phone or video, whenever works for you.
Book a Call →Book a 30-minute strategy call. Free. No obligation. Talk to a real broker today.
Sources: OAIC, What stays on a credit report (updated 9 October 2025) and Repayment history and defaults; Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Part IIIA; AFSA, What is bankruptcy? and Bankruptcy Act amendment (commenced 23 November 2023); ATO, Disclosure of business tax debts (updated 15 October 2025). General information only — not tax, financial or credit advice. Speak with us and your accountant about your specific circumstances.