Remove your data where you live
How to remove your personal information in Australia
Quick answer
Australia's Privacy Act has no standalone right to erasure, so start by asking organisations what they hold, then ask them to correct or delete it and to stop direct marketing. All of that is free. For public records, the main tools are silent elector status on the electoral roll and suppression of your address on the ASIC companies register, and both require a risk to your safety.
All privacy laws“Silent enrolment means your address will not be shown on future editions of the publicly available roll.”
- Applies in
- Australia (Commonwealth)
- Companies must answer within
- Access and correction: agencies within 30 days, organisations within a reasonable period, which the OAIC considers to be 30 days. Silent elector masking: up to 7 days after approval. ABN non-disclosure decisions: usually about 20 business days. Do Not Call Register: you can complain if calls continue after 30 days.
- Last updated
Head of Product & Co-Founder
Reviewed by Ludwig Sandgren
Head of Legal
Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.
Sources checked: oaic.gov.au, legislation.gov.au, aec.gov.au
Last verified against the official page:
Anyone whose personal information is held by an Australian Government agency or an organisation covered by the Privacy Act, which generally means businesses with annual turnover over $3 million plus some others. The roll, ASIC and ABN steps apply to enrolled voters, company officeholders and sole traders.
How to use it
- 1
Ask organisations what they hold
Under the Privacy Act you can ask an organisation or agency for access to your personal information (APP 12). Our Australian access request template is ready to copy. Agencies must respond within 30 days, and organisations within a reasonable period, which the OAIC considers to be 30 days.
- 2
Ask for correction or deletion
Ask the organisation to correct your information (APP 13). It's free, and according to the OAIC, correction can include deleting information. Organisations also have to destroy or de-identify information they no longer need (APP 11.2), so say what you want gone and why it isn't needed any more.
Our guides cover the removal process for companies that operate in Australia, including Equifax, InfoTracer, RecordsFinder, Experian Marketing Services and LiveRamp.
- 3
Opt out of direct marketing and ask where they got your details
Tell the organisation you don't want direct marketing, ask it not to pass your details to others for marketing, and ask where it got your information (APP 7). It's free, and the organisation has to act within a reasonable period. The OAIC's marketing page covers the details.
- 4
Join the Do Not Call Register
List your Australian numbers on the Do Not Call Register to opt out of unsolicited telemarketing calls and marketing faxes. If marketing calls continue after 30 days, you can complain through the register.
What it doesn't do: stop scam calls. Some callers may still be allowed to ring; the register's FAQs list them.
- 5
Ask your telco for a silent number
A silent (unlisted) number stays out of print and online directories and services like 1223, and is blocked from caller ID except to some telcos and to 000 and 112, according to the ACMA. Some telcos charge an ongoing fee, so ask first.
What it doesn't do: stop telemarketers who dial numbers at random.
- 6
If your safety is at risk, apply to be a silent elector
Apply online or on your state's paper form, with one form of ID and a Commonwealth statutory declaration explaining the risk. You need to have lived at the address for at least a month. Not wanting junk mail, having a silent number or your profession alone aren't accepted reasons, according to the AEC.
What it does: hides your address on future rolls, which then show only your name and division. Masking can take up to 7 days.
What it doesn't do: remove your address from rolls already in the public domain. Family members at the same address should apply too. In Victoria, non-resident ratepayers need a separate application to the council.
- 7
Company officeholders: suppress your address on the ASIC register
Since 2 February 2026, company extracts from ASIC's website no longer show officeholders' residential addresses. Older lodged documents the public can buy and download still can. If your or your family's safety would be at risk, email Form 379 to suppression@asic.gov.au with a physical Australian address to publish instead. If you're enrolled to vote, you must be a silent elector first and attach the AEC approval letter. If you aren't enrolled, also lodge Form 378 with a fee and a statutory declaration. The ASIC page has both forms.
What it does: hides the address in current and historically lodged documents.
What it doesn't do: hide your name or date of birth, or your details on the business names register, which has its own process.
- 8
Sole traders: ask the ABR not to disclose your ABN details
Send the Request for non-disclosure of ABN details cover sheet (NAT 75641) to the Australian Business Register with evidence, such as a statutory declaration, court orders, a police report, an AEC silent elector letter or a phone bill showing a silent number. It's for personal-safety or exceptional reasons, and most decisions take about 20 business days.
What it does: withholds your legal and historical names, trading name, business name, entity type and postcode. If you only want a trading name gone, ask the ATO to end-date it instead.
- 9
Complain to the organisation, then the OAIC
Complain to the organisation first. If it doesn't respond within 30 days or you're unhappy with the answer, lodge a written complaint with the OAIC.
No answer in time? Complain to Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) .
What stays public
A few limits to know before you start:
- Old electoral rolls. Silent status only covers future rolls. Rolls already out keep your address.
- Your name and date of birth at ASIC. Suppression covers your residential address, nothing else, and the business names register is separate.
- Small businesses. Businesses with turnover of $3 million or less generally aren't covered by the Privacy Act, so the APP rights don't reach them.
- No general erasure right. Deletion comes through correction or the duty to destroy information that isn't needed, not through a right to be forgotten.
State land titles registers and state electoral rolls are run by the states and aren't covered here.
What it costs
Making an access request is free. So are correction requests and marketing opt-outs. An organisation can charge for giving you access, but not excessively. Some telcos charge an ongoing fee for a silent number, and ASIC's Form 378 carries a fee if you aren't enrolled to vote.
Where Serus fits
The Privacy Act lets you ask one organisation at a time, and it generally doesn't reach small businesses. Listings also come back. Serus finds the data brokers and people-search sites that list you where you live, sends the removal requests, follows up and checks for relistings. Run a free scan to see where you're listed.
Data brokers that list people in Australia
Each guide shows how to opt out of that site, step by step.
- Remove yourself from Equifax
- Remove yourself from InfoTracer
- Remove yourself from LiveRamp
- Remove yourself from RecordsFinder
- Remove yourself from Experian Marketing Services
- Remove yourself from Adstra (American List Counsel)
- Remove yourself from Anteriad
- Remove yourself from Experian Australia
Let Serus send the requests for you
Serus finds the data brokers that list you where you live and removes you from them.
Related
Frequently asked
Can I ask an Australian company to delete my data?
There's no standalone erasure right, but a correction request can include deleting information, and organisations must destroy or de-identify information they no longer need (APP 11.2).
Who can become a silent elector?
An Australian citizen aged 18 or over (16 and 17 year olds can pre-register) who has lived at the address for at least a month and believes having it on the roll could put them or their family at risk.
Does silent enrolment remove old rolls?
No. If you're granted silent status at your current address, that address still appears on rolls already in the public domain, but not on future ones.
Are residential addresses still on ASIC company extracts?
Not on extracts from ASIC's website since 2 February 2026, but they can appear in other documents the public can buy and download unless you've had them suppressed.
Does a silent number stop telemarketing?
No. Some telemarketers dial at random. Join the Do Not Call Register as well.
Does the Privacy Act cover small businesses?
Generally not. It covers organisations with annual turnover over $3 million and some others.
Sources
- oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/your-personal-information/access-your-personal-information
- oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/your-personal-information/correct-your-personal-information
- oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/more-privacy-rights/advertising,-marketing-and-spam
- oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/lodge-a-privacy-complaint-with-us
- oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-legislation
- legislation.gov.au/C2004A03712/latest/text
- aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/silent-electors.htm
- asic.gov.au/for-business-and-companies/companies/register-a-company/hide-a-residential-address-on-the-companies-register
- abr.gov.au/business-super-funds-charities/applying-abn/your-business-information-abr/request-non-disclosure-abn-details
- acma.gov.au/make-your-phone-number-more-private
- donotcall.gov.au/consumers/consumer-overview/
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