---
title: "Notice to a person interviewed in an internal investigation (who the lawyers act for, privilege and confidentiality)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/internal-investigation-interview-notice"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a40-internal-investigation-interview-notice"
area_id: "A40"
kind: "notice"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Notice to a person interviewed in an internal investigation (who the lawyers act for, privilege and confidentiality)

> A written notice, with an opening script, for an employee or contractor interviewed in a privileged internal investigation: the lawyers act for the organisation, the privilege is the organisation’s, what stays…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/internal-investigation-interview-notice  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

A written notice, with an opening script, for an employee or contractor interviewed in a privileged internal investigation: the lawyers act for the organisation, the privilege is the organisation’s, what stays confidential, support people, recording and protected disclosures.

## Key facts

- Kind: Notice. A formal notice to serve or publish.
- Practice area: [In-House / General Counsel](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 2 authorities it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Give it to each witness before an interview in an investigation run by in-house or external lawyers for the purpose of legal advice, and read the key points aloud at the start. It is not a show-cause letter and is not for the person under investigation to answer allegations; use a separate procedural fairness letter for that.

## How AI may be used

AI may fill the matter details into the approved notice and prepare a neutral interview plan from the terms of reference, but a lawyer settles the notice for each witness and no AI transcription runs without the witness’s informed consent.

**AI may:**

- Insert names, dates, the investigation reference and the support-person and recording options into the approved notice
- Prepare a draft list of neutral topics for the interview from the terms of reference, for the investigator to edit
- Transcribe or summarise an interview only where the witness has consented in writing and the tool is on the approved register

**AI must not:**

- Must not tell the witness anything about the allegations, other witnesses’ evidence or likely outcomes beyond what the lawyer has approved
- Must not record, transcribe or summarise an interview without the witness’s informed consent and any consent the law of the place of recording requires
- Must not be used to draft a witness statement or affidavit for the witness to sign
- Must not process interview notes or recordings in a tool that retains inputs or trains on them

**The lawyer checks:**

- The investigation is set up by a lawyer for the dominant purpose of legal advice or anticipated litigation, and the terms of reference say so
- The notice does not restrict the witness from making a disclosure protected by law, including a whistleblower disclosure or a report to a regulator or police
- The support person, union representative and recording options match the organisation’s policies and any enterprise agreement
- Whether interview notes are kept as privileged lawyer’s notes, and who may see them, has been decided before the interview

## Authorities

- [Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) s 118 (legal advice privilege: confidential communications and documents for the dominant purpose of legal advice)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s118.html)
- [Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) s 117 (definition of client, including an employee or agent of a client and an employer of a lawyer)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s117.html)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/in-house-general-counsel/internal-investigation-interview-notice and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*