Privilege in Perspective: Client Legal Privilege in Federal Investigations (ALRC Report 107)

ALRC Report 107 (tabled 13 February 2008) is the final report of the ALRC’s Client Legal Privilege Inquiry.

The ALRC’s research identified over 40 federal bodies with coercive information-gathering powers (as well as Royal Commissions established from time to time) and many more than 40 statutes that addressed the powers of these bodies. Many of these statutes are silent on the issue of privilege, and where privilege is addressed, there is no consistency of approach.

In the Privilege in Perspective report, the ALRC made a number of recommendations to improve existing laws and procedures. The key recommendations focused on achieving greater consistency in the application of privilege within the context of federal investigations, and improving processes for making claims of privilege and resolving disputes over claims of privilege.

View ALRC Report 107 in HTML on the AustLII website.