The AFL has apologised for a printing error that has affected the privacy of potentially hundreds of its members.

The league said it had already heard from 140 members who have received renewal forms that contain private details of other people.

"The AFL has been made aware that personal details such as name, email address, date of birth and phone numbers of some AFL members have been printed on the renewal forms of another member," the league said in a statement.

"The AFL is currently trying to ascertain how many members have been affected by this error, which occurred in the digital printing process at the mailhouse Printpoint, resulting in some personal contact details of some members appearing in renewal invoices addressed to another member.

"AFL Chief Commercial and Broadcasting Officer Gillon McLachlan said it appeared the error occurred in several batches of renewals that were mailed to AFL members over the past week although the exact number of members affected is not yet known.

"So far 140 members have rung to notify the AFL of the error."

McLachlan said the league apologised "unreservedly" for the privacy breach.

The league also said the breach did not affect financial information, such as credit card details.

Printpoint manager director Alan Rhodes also issued a statement, offering an "unreserved apology" for what he described as a "mechanical malfunction".

"We are working with the hardware suppliers to ascertain how this could have possibly happened," he added.

"We are concerned and regretful that this has happened and we are working positively with the AFL to rectify this problem.

"The information and data provided to us by the AFL was in the correct format and secure.

"I assure all AFL members that their personal details remain secure and no other incidents have occurred outside of the printing error."

The AFL has also asked that any members who receive renewals with other people's details call the league.

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