Update (9 Jan 2020)
The government has announced the decision to make all publications in the Gazette freely available to the public. Kudos to the government for doing so! As such, there is no point in continuing to archive them. I have turned off the search feature. However, this page will remain online as it also provides useful information to the public on how they can make use of the information in the gazette.
Disclaimer
I am not a lawyer. The information provided is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice.
The government gazette is a periodical publication of public and legal notices. These notices include useful notices such as the bankruptcy status of an individual, notices of companies which are in the process of winding up or striking off. There are also interesting notices such as minister leave schedules and conferment of certain powers on public officers in various agencies. You would think that public notices would be well, public. However, the Singapore Government Printer only makes the last 5 days of notices available to the public. An annual subscription to the archives will set you back $2,597.08.
This has created quite an interesting situation. By locking public notices behind a paywall, the government can now charge for public information. Want to get a company business profile? That would be $5.50 payable to ACRA. Want to check if a person is bankrupt? That will be $6 payable to the insolvency office.
As far as I can tell, this is a situation unique to Singapore. Britain has publicly available records dating back to the 1800s accessible online for free. Thomas Hoare, of Aston was declared a bankrupt on 23rd June, 1870. Maybe we cant uphold the high standards of our former colonial master, here is Sri Lanka's 2001 issue of their gazette, here is the state of Tamil Nadu's 2008 issue of their gazette. There are plenty more examples of governments around the world who have a better track record at making public information available online.
I have started collecting gazette issues since June 2019 and will make them available for you to search for free. The search index will continually be updated as gazette issues are released.
Disclaimer
Whilst every endeavour is made to ensure that the search result provided is updated and correct, I disclaim any liability for any damage or loss that may be caused as a result of any error or omission. Also, even though the insolvency office charges you $6 for each search, they make the same disclaimer!
Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with the full contents of the gazette. I am unsure if the gazette is copyrighted and whether the copyright belongs to the Singapore Government or the Singapore Government Printer. I do not have permission from either party to distribute the gazette. I can however provide you with snippets of the gazette based on your search terms. Provision of snippets through search engine services is considered fair use and there are sufficient precedent cases in various jurisdictions.
How can the average Singaporean use this information? You should check up on an individual or company before you:
1. Sign up for a 1 year gym package
2. Rent out a room
3. Lend money to someone
4. Open your door for the alleged NEA inspector
This is all part of due diligence. You need to ensure that the individual or company you are dealing with is a valid legal entity and in good financial standing so as to minimise the risk of any losses. If you have done such due diligence, any future legal action you may need to take is relatively straightforward and is likely within the jurisdiction of the small claims court, where fees are in the ballpark of $100. If you signed a package with a non existent company or rented out a room to a bankrupt, the case would be much more complicated, you would need to hire a lawyer to fight the case in court. You would be looking at fees in the ballpark of tens of thousands.