After failing to sell Dick Smith as a going concern,
receivers Ferrier Hodgson are now trying to sell the company's
New Zealand and Australian assets, including customer databases.
But does the Privacy Act 1993 allow it?
The legal position
A receiver or liquidator is bound by the provisions of the
Privacy Act 1993.
Principle 11(g) of the Act enables a vendor to release personal
customer information for due diligence purposes and to the eventual
purchaser but only when disclosure is necessary on reasonable
grounds and only when the business is being sold as a going
concern. That provision is no longer applicable in this case.
The Act enables agencies to disclose details about individuals
who may be clients or customers where goodwill forms part of the
consideration for the sale or other disposition. The Act also
allows agencies to disclose information about employees, where the
person taking over the business proposes to continue or novate some
or all of their
