You have advised me that for personal/private reasons your name and residential address are not recorded on the electoral roll, and so you would like to have an alternative address recorded with ASIC.
Usually a company officeholder (Director and/or Company Secretary) is required to give ASIC details of their residential address (note: ASIC will not accept a business or post office box address) on various forms and applications lodged with them. These address details form part of ASIC’s public database and are available to the public.
In certain circumstances it may be possible to apply to ASIC for approval to have a residential address suppressed on the public database and, in its place, an alternative address is shown – ref Corporations Act s205D(2). These circumstances occur primarily when:
- the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has granted you ‘silent enrolment’ status
– that is, your name, but not your residential address, is on an electoral roll; or
- the AEC has agreed (because you comply with the relevant provisions) to your name (and, therefore, not your residential address either) not appearing on the electoral roll and ASIC determines that including your residential address on their public database could put at risk your personal safety or the personal safety of members of your family.
Any alternative address must be within Australia and be one at which documents can be served on you. A post office box address is not acceptable. At any particular time, you may use only the one alternative address in all of your company roles.
Applications are lodged with ASIC as follows:
Form 379 is used if your residential address is already suppressed by the AEC, on which you provide:
- your full name, date and place of birth
- your usual residential address – this is the address that ASIC will suppress on their public database.
- your alternative address – this is the address that ASIC will show on their public database in place of your usual residential address
and attach a copy of the AEC’s approval letter to confirm your ‘silent enrolment’ status.
Form 378 is used if your name is not on the electoral roll, with which you provide:
- a statutory declaration providing reasons why your personal safety or the personal safety of your family members is at risk.
- a Form 379 (as above), except that the AEC’s letter is not required in this situation.
ASIC will then make a determination on the acceptability of your request and, if approved, will send you a notice setting out an ASIC approval number. You should quote your approval number, next to your name and alternative address details, on any form that you lodge with ASIC that would normally require your residential address to be included.
*Originally written by Company Secretary, an Australian virtual company secretary service.