10.3.17 Additional Privacy Guidelines for a Private Trust or Company

This section contains information on what details can and cannot be released to persons who are involved in private trusts and private companies.

Release of information

The information held on private trust and private company files and computer records is subject to the same confidentially and privacy conditions as all other client information. However, due to the nature of the records held for private trusts and private companies extra care is necessary when accessing these records as they contain information about a number of people, some of whom are in receipt of a pension or benefit from DVA and some of whom are not.

Examples of information that can be disclosed

Examples of information that can be disclosed are:

information about the private trust's or private company's income and assets can only be confirmed with the controller or nominated contact person,
information about a pensioner's own assessment,
names of shareholders (This can be disclosed, as the information is readily available from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission).

Examples of information that cannot be disclosed

Examples of information that cannot be disclosed are:

personal details of any shareholders or beneficiaries (including whether or not they are a DVA client) to anyone, including controllers,
tax file numbers.

Special care is also required when printing any computer records for distribution to a pensioner. The print outs must be examined to ensure any information that is not relevant to the pensioner is deleted.

Table of individuals to whom information can or cannot be disclosed

The following table outlines the information that can and cannot be disclosed to individuals who may be making enquiries about a particular private trust or private company.

Information	Individuals to whom information cannot be released	Individuals to whom information can be released
All income and asset details of the organisation	pensioner shareholder beneficiary	controller nominated contact person
Personal details and their own income and asset details of the organisation	not applicable	pensioner controller nominated contact person shareholder beneficiary
Personal details of others	pensioner controller nominated contact person shareholder beneficiary	not applicable
Release of identity of pensioners	pensioner controller nominated contact person shareholder beneficiary	not applicable
Release of identity of controller/s	pensioner shareholder beneficiary	controller nominated contact person
Release of identity of trustee(s)	not applicable	pensioner* controller nominated contact person beneficiary*
Release of name of beneficiaries	pensioner beneficiary	controller nominated contact person
Names of shareholders	not applicable	pensioner* controller nominated contact person shareholder*
Identify nominated contact person	not applicable	pensioner controller nominated contact person shareholder beneficiary
Release of pensioner or organisation TFN	pensioner controller nominated contact person shareholder beneficiary	not applicable

*This information is already available to the general public through other sources eg for trusts it is available on the Trust Deed and for companies it is available through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Source URL: https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-10-types-income-and-assets/103-business-structures-and-trusts/10317-additional-privacy-guidelines-private-trust-or-company