If a debt collector contacted your family about your debt — whether they called your mum, your partner, your employer, or anyone else — they almost certainly broke the law. Under Australia’s Privacy Act and the ACCC/ASIC debt collection guidelines, discussing your debt with a third party is a serious breach that can carry significant penalties.

Yet it happens far more often than most people realise. Debt collectors use this tactic to embarrass, pressure, and shame people into paying — and they count on you not knowing your rights. Here’s exactly what the law says, what you can do about it, and how we’ve helped thousands of Australians fight back.

Your Debt Is Confidential — The Law Is Clear

Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, your personal financial information — including any debts you owe — is confidential. A debt collector cannot share this information with anyone who isn’t directly involved in the debt.

That means they cannot:

• Call your parents, siblings, or extended family to discuss your debt
• Contact your employer or workplace about money you owe
• Tell your neighbours, friends, or housemates about your financial situation
• Ask anyone else to pass on messages about your debt
• Imply to a third party that you owe money

The only exception is if they’re trying to locate you — and even then, they can only ask for your contact details. They cannot reveal why they’re calling or mention any debt.

Why Debt Collectors Contact Your Family

Make no mistake — when a debt collector calls your mum or your partner, it’s a deliberate tactic. They do it to:

• Embarrass you into paying to make the calls stop
• Pressure your family to pay on your behalf out of concern or shame
• Make you feel trapped and isolated, like there’s no escape
• Create social pressure from people you care about

It works because shame is powerful. Nobody wants their mum worrying about their finances. Nobody wants their boss knowing about their debts. Collectors know this, and they exploit it ruthlessly.

But here’s what they don’t want you to know: every time they do it, they hand you ammunition.

Real Cases Where Debt Collectors Were Caught

In one landmark case, a debt collection company called a debtor’s neighbour and asked them to pass a message to the debtor’s husband. The court described this as a “distinctly unsavoury tactic” and found it constituted undue harassment and coercion under Australian Consumer Law.

This isn’t a grey area. The courts have consistently held that contacting third parties about a person’s debt is:

• A breach of the Privacy Act
• Potential undue harassment or coercion under the Australian Consumer Law
• A violation of the ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline

Penalties for these breaches can be substantial — up to $10 million for corporations under the Australian Consumer Law.

For detailed information about your rights under debt collection law, see the ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

What You Should Do If It Happens to You

If a debt collector has contacted your family, employer, or anyone else about your debt, here’s exactly what to do:

1. Gather Evidence Immediately

Write down everything while it’s fresh. Note the date, time, who was called, what was said, and the name of the collection company. If the person they contacted is willing, get a written statement from them about what happened.

2. Screenshot and Record Everything

If the contact was via text message, social media, email, or voicemail — screenshot it. Save the evidence somewhere safe. If you’re in a state that allows one-party consent recording, consider recording future calls.

3. Lodge a Formal Complaint

You can lodge complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), or both. These complaints create a formal record and can lead to investigations.

4. Talk to a Specialist Lawyer

A credit repair lawyer can assess whether the collector’s behaviour gives you grounds to challenge the underlying default on your credit file. In many cases, a collector who’s willing to break the rules on third-party contact has also cut corners on the default listing itself.

The Default on Your File May Also Be Invalid

Here’s something most people don’t consider: if a debt collector is willing to break the law by contacting your family, what else have they done wrong?

After 16 years and thousands of credit file audits, we’ve found that creditors who engage in aggressive collection tactics are often the same ones who fail to follow proper procedures when listing defaults. Common compliance failures include:

• Not sending the required default notice to your correct address
• Not waiting the mandatory 14-day notice period before listing
• Listing a default for an incorrect amount
• Failing to properly investigate disputes when raised

Our audited success rate is 91.6%. That means 9 out of 10 defaults we review have a compliance issue that makes them eligible for removal — not just “paid,” but completely removed from your credit file.

Don’t Just Get Angry — Get Results

It’s natural to feel violated when a debt collector drags your family into your financial situation. But anger alone won’t fix your credit file or stop the harassment. What will fix it is understanding your rights, gathering evidence, and working with professionals who know exactly how to hold these companies accountable.

We’ve been doing this since 2009. We’re a law firm — not a credit repair company sending template letters. We investigate, we find the compliance failures, and we get defaults removed. If we can’t remove it, you don’t pay.

Conclusion

A debt collector contacting your family about your debt isn’t just wrong — it’s a breach of the Privacy Act and Australian debt collection guidelines that can carry penalties of up to $10 million. If it’s happened to you, gather evidence immediately, lodge formal complaints, and speak to a specialist lawyer about whether the underlying default is also invalid.

Your debt is your business. Not your mum’s, not your boss’s, not your neighbour’s. If a debt collector crossed that line, they’ve handed you the power to fight back — and we can show you exactly how.