The government will amend the Privacy Act to allow credit reports to include information about financial hardship arrangements.Attorney-General Christian Porter announced that the government would release draft legislation for public consultation.Currently, provisions of the Privacy Act preclude disclosure of hardship arrangements in credit reports.The government's view is that inclusion of hardship arrangements in credit reports will "benefit consumers by making sure credit products are suitable and ensuring consumers are encouraged to seek hardship arrangements if they are struggling to meet repayments under their credit contract."Under the proposed change, hardship indicators will identify where a hardship arrangement is in place and whether a consumer is making payments in accordance with that arrangement.Consumer groups are concerned that consumers will be deterred from approaching their lenders for assistance with hardship if those arrangements are to be included in their credit reports.Porter said in a media release that the change would support the comprehensive credit reporting regime.He said the current rule had led to circumstances "where people who are struggling to repay one credit provider are provided with another line of credit from a different provider."Porter said credit reporting bodies would be prohibited from using hardship information to calculate a consumer's credit score.