Suppression of directors’ residential details by ASIC – update and further protective steps for directors to consider

ASIC has announced that company extracts purchased through the ASIC website will no longer contain the residential address of company directors and other officeholders. Members with security concerns should apply to ASIC for address suppression on documents lodged with the regulator.   

Residential addresses no longer available on company extracts

On 2 February, ASIC announced that current and historical company extracts purchased through its website will no longer contain the residential addresses of company officeholders including directors. The change has been made given privacy and security concerns.

Such details form part of the information which ASIC collects and stores on the Companies Register, along with directors’ and company secretaries’ full name and place and date of birth.

Details of the change can be found here, with ASIC undertaking to engage registry intermediaries to help them understand how this change affects them and continue to monitor implementation and any impact upon users.

Law enforcement agencies, government departments, and those who require address details for regulatory compliance and business purposes will still have access to this information.

Further protective steps directors can take via the AEC and ASIC

The AICD has long called for the removal of director residential address details from the Companies Register and intensified our advocacy over recent months given heightened security risks. We have been working closely with government to press for urgent action and have welcomed this important step.

While ASIC's move does not remove residential address information from historically lodged documents, it does provide enhanced protection for around three million directors by removing a low-cost avenue to public access via company searches.

Members who have concerns regarding their personal safety should apply to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to become a silent elector (further details here).

If/when their application to the AEC has been approved, they can then seek suppression of their home address (and substitution of an alternative address) by ASIC from relevant documents lodged with ASIC and available by paid company search.

If a director lodges a request (via Form 379) to suppress their residential address, ASIC will remove those details from historically lodged documents with ASIC (e.g. Form 484: Change to Company Details). For directors not on the electoral role, for example those domiciled overseas, they can apply to ASIC (via Form 379) for home address suppression, without first applying to the AEC.

If your matter is urgent, and you require immediate assistance, please contact ASIC on 1300 300 630 prior to lodging a Form 379 or applying to the AEC.  

Broader Companies Register reforms

The Government is working on a permanent solution to allow directors to notify of an alternative address to be publicly available from the Register in place of their residential address from July 2027, which is when director identification numbers will be linked to the Register as part of the Government’s Registry upgrade project.

The AICD was strongly of the view that it was an unacceptable risk to have this information publicly available until mid-next year, given the privacy, personal safety, and cyber and identity-theft risks.

The dangers of having residential addresses publicly available were particularly apparent post the terror attack at Bondi.

Nothing in the recent ASIC interim change to residential addresses undermines the Registry Connect Project, including the planned Director ID linkage process. Further information about the Registry Connect Project can be found here.

Next steps

The AICD will continue to work with ASIC to support this change and update members. We would welcome feedback from members (policy@aicd.com.au) on their experience applying to the AEC and ASIC to suppress residential address details.