Do the requirements of the Act impinge on client confidentiality?
Professionals from a wide range of sectors may communicate on behalf of a client.
Compliance with the Act should not necessitate a breach of client confidentiality. The level of information required in a return should not require the disclosure of confidential discussions. If such a situation arose, it would have to be assessed based on its particular facts and having regard to the provisions of Section 14 of the Act concerning delayed publication.
The level of information required in a return should not require the disclosure of confidential discussions. Moreover, once a direction from the client has resulted in the action of lobbying, it is not the communication from the client that falls to be disclosed, but rather the communication with the Designated Public Official. Client confidentiality does not remove the statutory obligation to report registrable lobbying.