A recent Australian Securities and Investments Commission change effected on 2 February 2026 has removed the visibility of residential addresses of directors from company search extracts.

While the rationale was based on privacy and cybersecurity protections, it means that a foundational due diligence tool that was easily available to businesses has been removed. This is a recalibration of corporate transparency and requires a higher procedural level of onboarding of new clients.

For businesses, the implication is to tighten KYC processes from a passive to a deliberate and disciplined stage of engagement.

The key takeaways:

• ASIC extracts can no longer be relied on as a primary verification source for director addresses for services of notices

• Businesses must collect and verify director information independently

• Record-keeping of verification steps is now critical, not optional

• Locating and verifying addresses is becoming more time-intensive and costly

Ensure your new client procedures include verifying director identity with a primary ID, confirm residential addresses, maintain clear records of what has been verified and apply this onboarding checklist across all clients consistently.

#KYC #ASIC #RiskManagement #SmallBusiness #Compliance #CorporateLaw