How to claim legal professional privilege

We will give you an adequate opportunity to claim legal professional privilege (LPP). When using our notice or access powers, we will allow time for you to consult with your lawyers.

Compliance with formal notices – claiming legal professional privilege in response to formal notices – Legal professional privilege (LPP) protocol contains our recommended approach for identifying communications covered by legal professional privilege and making legal professional privilege claims to the ATO. A compendium is published together with the LPP Protocol.

The LPP Protocol has been developed to assist you and your advisors when making legal professional privilege claims in response to requests for information we make under our formal information gathering powers.

Its purpose is to set out an approach which, in our view, will best assist us in deciding whether to accept, review or challenge a legal professional privilege claim. It is voluntary to follow the approach set out in the LPP Protocol.

We expect that a person claiming legal professional privilege will provide us with an explanation that allows us to decide what to do with a claim for privilege. The LPP protocol sets out the approach and information that we think would allow us to quickly decide how to treat your claim for privilege.

Our form for claiming legal professional privilege

The Legal professional privilege form is available to help you explain your privilege claim as recommended in the LPP Protocol. An excel version of the Legal professional privilege form is also available.

Completion of the Legal professional privilege form will allow your claim to be dealt with more quickly.

We will work with you to resolve disputed claims, or where more details are needed to support your claims.