Client legal privilege under s 119 of the Evidence Act 1995 is not displaced by the protective jurisdiction under s 13 of the Protected Estates Act 1983, and s 9(2)(c) does not permit dispensation with the prohibition on adducing privileged evidence in interlocutory proceedings. A solicitor may bring protective proceedings against a client where no reasonable alternative exists, but this is extremely undesirable and any disclosure of confidential information must be limited to what is absolutely necessary. The question whether expert opinions based on privileged communications are themselves admissible was left open, with Hodgson JA tentatively favouring admissibility (subject to fairness) and Ipp AJA favouring exclusion.
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