A press release issued by the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon last week left plenty of people in the credit reporting sector scratching their heads. Roxon marked Privacy Awareness Week by announcing that Australia's privacy laws would be reformed, including new credit reporting arrangements.Roxon said amendments to the Privacy Act would be introduced into Parliament during the winter sitting period. But, so far, no bill has been circulated and the Government has yet to respond to a Senate committee report from last October that recommended substantial changes to its proposed credit reporting regime.In the meantime, the industry has been pushing ahead with the formulation of a Credit Reporting Code of Conduct, which will be mandated in the new legislation.Privacy (and credit reporting) law reform has been on the agenda since the Australia Law Reform Commission issued a major report on the subject in 2008. The ALRC recommended that credit reporting agencies be allowed to collect a wider range of information in their credit reports. This could include current credit commitments and repayment performance.The Government said it would move Australia's credit reporting regime from the current negative system to a more comprehensive system. It released an exposure draft in June 2010.The Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee reviewed a draft bill and came up with 30 recommendations. The Senate committee agreed with a large number of submissions that said the proposed credit reporting rules were too complex.It said: "The exposure draft was not seen as improving clarity or providing greater simplicity. Consumer protections and industry obligations are not clearly set out. The exposure draft contains 60 new definitions, compared with seven definitions in the current Privacy Act."It said these shortcomings were a result of the draft bill being too prescriptive."The move to a more comprehensive credit reporting regime, with the addition of new data sets, has required the implementation of a significant regulatory framework. The approach taken, which regulates the flow of information in the credit reporting sector, may have undermined the goal of simplifying and clarifying the credit reporting regime. This may lead to uncertainty as to obligations and rights."The committee recommended the exposure draft be reviewed to ensure that the provisions are clear and concise.The Government has not responded to this review.In the meantime, industry bodies and companies involved in credit reporting have formed a Code Industry Council, whose main function is to formulate a Credit Reporting Code of Conduct.The code will have a data standard, designed to increase efficiency and accuracy in the credit reporting system. It will set out a reciprocity standard to ensure equal participation in the provision of data by all players. And it will have a compliance framework to safeguard consumers, data providers and data bureaus.The Code Industry Council has appointed an independent reviewer, Chris Connolly, to review submissions on the formulation of the code. Connolly launched a consultation process in March that runs through to the end of this month.