Further notice concerning privacy and the Register of Lobbyists maintained under the NSW Lobbyist Code of Conduct

What is the Register of Lobbyists?

The NSW Lobbyist Code of Conduct, which will operate from 1 February 2009, prohibits Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Ministerial staff, staff working for a Parliamentary Secretary, and persons working in public sector agencies, to be lobbied by anyone other than a professional lobbyist who has their details included on a Register of Lobbyists.

Government Members of Parliament are required to comply with the Code.

The Lobbyist Code of Conduct can be accessed here.

The Department's website allows a lobbyist to make an online application for registration in order to satisfy the requirements of the Code of Conduct.  It also allows internet users to view the information, including personal information, contained in the Register.

For the purpose of the Code of Conduct, a professional lobbyist is any person or organisation whose business includes being contracted or engaged to represent the interests of a third party to a government representative.

This definition does not include:

• an organisation constituted to represent the interests of its members;
• a religious or charitable organisation; or
• an entity or person whose business is a recognised technical or professional occupation which, as part of the services provided to third parties in the course of that occupation, represents the views of the third party who has engaged it to provide technical or professional services.

What personal information is collected through the online registration process?

In choosing to apply for registration via this website, professional lobbyists must provide the following personal information in support of their application:

• details of the names of persons who are working for them, their clients and their business registration details;
• a statutory declaration, including one for each employed lobbyist, containing the following personal information:
• name and address details;
• a statement that the lobbyist has not been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 30 months or more; and
• a statement that a lobbyist has not been convicted, as an adult, in the last ten years, of an offence, one element of which involves dishonesty, such as theft or fraud.
• general contact details (such as telephone numbers and email addresses) will also be collected as part of the registration process.

A lobbyist should only provide personal information about their individual clients or employees with the permission of those individuals.  A failure to provide all the necessary personal information will, however, prevent the application being considered.

Applicants should rely on their own inquiries about the impact of seeking registration on their existing – if any – privacy obligations.

What is the personal information collected via the online application process used for?

The information provided by an applicant lobbyist via this website's online application facility will be used by the Department for the purposes of the Lobbyist Code of Conduct and the Register of Lobbyists only and for no other purpose, except as required or authorised by law.

The primary purposes are to determine applications from lobbyists for inclusion in the Register of Lobbyists and to make information concerning lobbyists publicly available for inspection in the Register of Lobbyists on this website.

What personal information will be included in the Register of Lobbyists and made publicly available on this website?

The following information provided by professional lobbyists via this website may be included in the Register of Lobbyists accessed by any person with access to this website:

• business registration details including, where the business is not a publicly listed company, the names of owners, partners or major shareholders, as applicable;
• the names and positions of persons employed, contracted or otherwise engaged by the lobbyist to carry out lobbying activities, and
• the names of clients on whose behalf the lobbyist conducts lobbying activities.

What are the consequences of not providing personal information via this website as part of an application for inclusion on the Register?

While lobbyists are not required by law to apply for inclusion on the Register, the Lobbyists Code of Conduct provides that government representatives will be prohibited from 1 February 2009 from being lobbied by professional lobbyists who are not listed in the Register. 

An application for inclusion on the Register will not be able to be processed by the Department unless all the relevant personal information about the applicant, and his or her clients and employees, is provided as part of the application.