What Happened?
On 2 February 2026, ASIC decided that ‘[c]ompany extracts purchased through the ASIC website will no longer contain the residential addresses of company officeholders’.
Why the Change?
Why does it matter that the public has access to an officeholder’s residential address?
Well, ASIC answers this question for us. ASIC states that they ‘… implemented the change in response to broader privacy and safety concerns’. ASIC also makes reference to ‘… heightened concerns around personal safety and to reduce the risk of identity theft and cyber-crime’.
Does Anybody Still Have Access to the Information?
Yes, ASIC does make an exception to this new measure.
Specifically, ASIC states that ‘[l]aw enforcement agencies, government departments, and those who require address details for regulatory compliance and business purposes will still have access to this information’.
What About Third-Party Providers?
As it stands, ‘ASIC will engage registry intermediaries to help them understand how this change affects them and continue to monitor the implementation to assess any impact upon users’.
However, what is interesting is that ASIC is currently ‘… not accepting new information broker applications at this time’. ASIC states that such applications will open in 2026, but 2026 is already here. Does this mean anything? Has, or will, ASIC’s decision impact anyone seeking to become a registered information broker for ASIC?
Only time will tell. The clock is ticking.
Future Practical and Legislative Considerations
What will happen moving forward at a practical and legislative level?
At a legislative level, ASIC mentions in its news article that ‘[a] Treasury consultation on draft laws to improve Australia’s business registers is open until 10 February 2026’.
ASIC, through Registry Connect, will seek to ‘link … director IDs to the companies register’. This will allow … further reduction of personal information being stored on the registers’.
Conclusion
With ASIC implementing these measures, we await to see what comes next.
At RA Law Group, we have a team of lawyers who understand company structures, debt recovery and insolvency. We can provide you with apt advice, support and direction in times of uncertainty.
Contact us now to see how we can assist you.