26.— (1) Before making a report to the Minister under section 27, the Assessor shall send a draft of his or her report to—

(a) each person who made a submission to the Assessor, and

(b) any other person, or each person in any class of persons, that the Minister specifies in writing,

inviting the person to make written submissions concerning the draft report and specifying a reasonable period in which to do so.

(2) The Assessor may omit from the draft report any evidence or material if including that evidence or material would disclose commercially sensitive information or would otherwise be contrary to the public interest.

(3) Before submitting the report to the Minister under section 27, the Assessor shall consider any submissions made in accordance with the Assessor’s invitation under subsection (1) and shall revise the report as appropriate.

(4) A person to whom the Assessor sends a copy of a draft report under subsection (1) commits an offence if he or she discloses the report or its contents or any part of the report or its contents to any person other than for the purpose of obtaining professional advice.

(5) A person to whom a draft report of the Assessor is disclosed (whether under subsection (4) for the purposes of obtaining professional advice or otherwise) commits an offence if he or she discloses the report or its contents or any part of the report or its contents to any other person other than for the purpose of obtaining professional advice.