Or so the saying goes. True perhaps, but one of the problems with modern day castles is they may not have secure parapets and their locations can be known to all.
Through the introduction and initial reading of the Companies (Address Information) Amendment Bill, Parliament is looking at allowing company directors to have their residential addresses removed from public view on the Companies Office website, for safety reasons.
The Bill proposes a mechanism where directors can ask the New Zealand Registrar of Companies (the Companies Office) to remove their residential addresses from the publicly accessible Companies Register. Instead, directors could substitute their residential addresses with an address designated for service.
The process calls for the submission of an application accompanied by a statutory declaration attesting to the potential physical or mental harm they, or their cohabitants, might endure due to the public availability of their residential addresses. A fee would be levied, and an alternate address for service, distinct from the company’s registered office or address for service, would need to be provided.
Presently, directors can only seek to suppress their residential addresses from the public register if they have been granted a protection order under the Family Violence Act 2018, leaving a hiatus in hiding addresses based on other privacy or safety concerns.
Debate and submissions to date have focussed on the delicate balance between individual privacy and safety concerns and the importance of company accountability and openness. The proposed exemption calls for directors to claim that the disclosure of their residential address “is likely to result in physical or mental harm.” However, the criteria for determining such harm remain subjective, lacking clarity on its definition or threshold.
It’s important to note that the Bill only addresses directors’ residential addresses, leaving out shareholders, and neglects other registers administered by the Companies Office.
CONCLUSION
While this proposed change may appear cosmetic, there can be little doubt that directors in New Zealand have been harassed and there are serious security and privacy issues to take into account. We will update this in our next Newsletter and if this article affects you or someone you know feel free to get in touch with us.
