OMBUDSMAN'S REPORT — LEGAL SERVICES
COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE
1090. Hon
NICK GOIRAN to the parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney
General:
I refer to the Ombudsman's
report on giving effect to the recommendations arising from the investigation
into the handling of complaints by the Legal Services and Complaints Committee.
(1) Will the
parliamentary secretary table the Attorney General's request to the
Ombudsman that he consider the handling of complaints by the Legal Profession
Complaints Committee?
(2) Does the Attorney General or the department
possess a copy of the preliminary report provided to the LPCC?
(3) If yes to (2), will the
parliamentary secretary table it?
Hon
MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:
I
thank the member for some notice of the question. I provide the following
answer on behalf of the Attorney General.
(1) There is no such document. The Attorney General
and the Ombudsman discussed the then Legal Profession Complaints
Committee, now the Legal Services and Complaints Committee, verbally.
(2) Yes.
(3) The
preliminary report was provided to the Attorney General by the Ombudsman in
accordance with section 19(5) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1971, with
the following instruction —
The preliminary report is strictly
confidential. The information in the preliminary report is subject to the secrecy provisions of the Act and
shall not be disclosed: s 23 of the Act. In accordance with section
23(1a) of the Act, I direct that any information contained in the preliminary
report not be disclosed to any person other than the Attorney General and staff
of the office of the Attorney General. Furthermore, the preliminary report is
exempt matter for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1992.