Suppression of personal details
Yulia Petrenko
yulia@oracleis.com.au
Recent changes are now in place to make it easier for vulnerable individuals to supress their personal information on the National Personal Insolvency Index (“NPII”).
A recent Government survey of 15,000 women found that 4.6% of the women experienced physical violence from a current or former cohabitating partner.
Resulting from a need to protect survivors of domestic abuse and other vulnerable individuals who have concerns for their safety, the Australian Financial Security Authority (“AFSA”) have made it easier for people to request that their personal information be suppressed from the National Personal Insolvency Index (“NPII”) if applying for bankruptcy, or if they are already bankrupt. Furthermore, individuals who are in, or entering a personal insolvency or debt agreement may also be eligible to apply for suppression.
The NPII is a publicly-available electronic record of personal insolvency proceedings. It shows:
- the name, date of birth (if known), residential address and occupation as disclosed on documents accepted by AFSA
- previous names and aliases (if known)
- the type of personal insolvency proceeding, the date it started and the administration number
- the name and contact details of the Trustee or Administrator
- the status of the person and/or the proceeding. For example, if a person is discharged from bankruptcy or if a creditor’s petition for a person’s bankruptcy is in progress.
The NPII can be searched, upon payment of a fee (currently $15), at:
In accordance with AFSA’s Official Receiver Practice Statement 8, if an individual believes that publishing their address (including previous addresses) and occupation on the NPII may put their safety at risk, they may apply to have this information suppressed. However, that the individual’s name and date of birth cannot be suppressed.
In accordance with the Insolvency Practice Rules (Bankruptcy) 2016 (“IPRs”), suppressed information cannot be released in the initial report to creditors as it is regarded as confidential in nature. The obligations under the IPRs ultimately lie with the Trustee’s duties under the Bankruptcy Act 1966, as on some occasions, suppressed information may need to be disclosed to realise property or otherwise administer the estate and the Trustee is required to use sound judgement with regard to disclosure of such information.
To apply for the suppression of information on the NPII when entering into bankruptcy, an individual can now make a request at question 6 of their bankruptcy application, which is a new process introduced by AFSA in order to streamline the application. Previously, such a request would need to be done via a separate form.
If an individual is already bankrupt, they will need to contact AFSA to make a request in writing for the suppression of information. Requests of this nature can be made by the individual themselves, or a third party on behalf of the bankrupt or debtor, such as a financial counsellor.
A further manner in which AFSA has made the process easier, is to remove the mandatory evidence requirement for a request for suppression. However, evidence to support an application is encouraged. For individuals that are concerned about that safety, they may include documents such as a domestic violence order, apprehended violence order, police report regarding threats of personal violence, or a report from a relevant practitioner (such as a social worker, psychiatrist, or medical practitioner).
In accordance with Practice Statement 8, an application for suppression must be considered without delay by AFSA and a decision is usually made within 1 day of receipt of the necessary information. Once a decision is made, the Trustee or Administrator will be notified immediately and will be instructed as to the effect of the suppression decision on the administration.
Any decision made to suppress information will only affect information displayed on the NPII from the date of the decision and into the future. As such, information that was accessed on the NPII prior to the decision to suppress will not be affected.
