Shifting winds in governance: What directors must know

The AICD’s policy agenda includes the recent Star Entertainment Group judgment, measures to better protect directors’ personal information and recent ASIC developments, writes Louise Petschler.

Star decision on directors’ duties

This edition of Company Director features expert insights on the recent verdict in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) director’s duties case against former directors and executives of the Star Entertainment Group. The Federal Court judgment is one of the most significant corporate governance cases in several decades. Members are encouraged to access the latest resources and analysis on this important decision and its lessons and implications, including the free AICD member webinar. 

Access to director personal information

The AICD has been a vocal advocate for greater privacy protections for director personal information held on ASIC’s Company Register. We have welcomed important recent steps by the government on this critical issue.

Until recently, sensitive information provided by Australian directors to the regulator (full name, date of birth and residential address) have been easily accessible for a nominal fee in company extracts purchased via the ASIC website.

Australia is an outlier in having such sensitive information so broadly available. The AICD has argued that this raises unacceptable privacy, safety and cyber risks for directors and officers across corporate and community organisations, especially in light of the heightened security environment following the terrible events at Bondi Beach in December.

The introduction of Director ID numbers, which verify director identity, is an important step in streamlining information on registers, but amalgamation of the back-end registers is still some time away. 

In February, ASIC announced that company extracts purchased through its website will no longer contain the residential addresses of company officeholders including directors. Law enforcement agencies, government departments and those requiring details for regulatory and business purposes will still have access to this information.

While ASIC’s move will not remove residential address information from lodged documents, it does remove the low-cost avenue for general access to sensitive personal details.

There are further steps directors and company secretaries can take if they have ongoing safety concerns about information available on ASIC registers, including applying for “silent elector” status with the Australian Electoral Commission and contacting ASIC, if the matter is urgent, on 1300 300 630. 

Members can read more about this important issue on the AICD website (Suppression of directors’ residential details by ASIC). Please contact policy @aicd.com.au to comment.