Law firm AI policy: template, builder and what the courts require

A law firm’s AI policy says which AI tools staff may use and for what, what information must never go into them, what a lawyer checks before AI output is used, when the client is told, and what each court requires. Build one from your answers, adopt the master policy below into your firm, or upload the policy you already have.

MaintainedLast reviewed 18 October 2026

Key facts

For: Australian law practices of any size, and the staff and AI tools they use
Ways to start: Build it with the policy builder, adopt the master policy, or upload your own
Master policy: 22 clauses and 2 schedules, version 1
Courts and tribunals cited: 6 practice notes and directions
Cost: Free. The full text needs a free account.

What a firm’s AI policy covers

Whichever way you start, the policy has to answer the same questions. These are the parts of the master policy, with its clause numbers.

Approved tools only: Staff use only the tools the firm has approved, for the uses approved (clause 6).
Information rules: What may go into which tool, and what never does: client confidential information in a public tool, for a start (clause 7).
Permitted uses by risk level: What AI may draft, what a lawyer drafts with it, and what stays with the lawyer (clause 8).
Verification: A person checks every output: sources opened, facts, figures and citations confirmed (clause 9).
Courts and tribunals: Each forum’s practice note or direction is followed, including disclosure and verification statements (clause 10 and Schedule 1).
Clients, costs and supervision: When the client is told, fair billing for AI-assisted work, and supervision of juniors and staff (clauses 11, 12 and 17).
Incidents, training and review: What to do when output is wrong or information is exposed, AI literacy, and a review date (clauses 16, 19 and 22).

Three ways to get your firm’s policy

Each route ends the same way: a draft in your firm that is read, filled in and approved. An owner or admin approves the firm’s first AI-use policy; only an owner approves one that replaces the policy in force.

Build it from your answers
Answer five short steps about the firm, its tools, its clients and its courts. The builder drafts the policy and an approved-uses register, cites the source for each rule, and saves both to your firm as drafts.
Open the policy builder
Adopt the master policy
Start from the complete master AI-use policy. It is copied into your firm as a draft with your firm’s name filled in. You fill the remaining blanks, then it is approved: by an owner when it replaces the policy in force.
Adopt into your firm
Upload the policy you have
Paste your current policy or upload it as a .md or .txt file. It becomes a draft in your firm, with its own version history and approval step.
Upload your policy

The master AI-use policy

Law firm AI use policy (master firm policy). The master AI use policy for an Australian law practice: governance, approved tools, information classes, permitted uses by risk level, verification, court requirements, clients, billing, decisions about people, incidents, training and review.

When to use it. Adopt as the firm's master AI policy before any AI tool is used on client work, tailored to its size, tools and practice areas, and issue the short-form AI confidentiality rules for staff with it. Pair it with the approved AI tools register, vendor due-diligence questionnaire and AI incident response procedure. Review at least every six months.

What it contains

1.Purpose
2.Scope
3.Key terms
4.Principles
5.Roles and governance
6.Approved tools only
7.Information rules
8.Permitted uses by risk level
9.Verification standard
10.Courts and tribunals
11.Clients
12.Costs and billing
13.AI that makes or informs decisions about people
14.Client-facing AI tools
15.Synthetic media and impersonation
16.Training and AI literacy
17.Supervision
18.Records
19.Incidents
20.Monitoring and audit
21.Breaches
22.Review

Schedule 1: Court and tribunal AI requirements (checked 17 October 2026)
Schedule 2: Acknowledgment

Last reviewed 17 October 2026. The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance are on the precedent page. The full text is for signed-in accounts.

Adopt it into your firm

Adopting is free. Log in, or create an account, and you come back here to adopt it.

What the courts and tribunals require

A firm’s policy has to follow the AI practice note or direction of each court and tribunal it appears in. The master policy cites these, and its schedule (“Schedule 1: Court and tribunal AI requirements (checked 17 October 2026)”) sets out what each one requires.

For every Australian forum’s current rules, including those this policy does not list, see the AI rules tracker and the court AI practice notes. Check the current version before you rely on any of them.

How AI may help write it

Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use. AI can help tailor this policy to the firm's tools, practice areas and courts, but partners decide the risk appetite, the permitted uses and the governance, and approve the final policy.

AI may

Populate Schedule 1 from the current court practice notes, with links, for a lawyer to verify.
Map the firm's current tools and embedded AI features into the register and the data-class table.
Produce training material and a one-page summary for staff from the approved policy.

AI must not

Must not set the firm's risk levels, permitted uses or data rules.
Must not state court requirements without a lawyer checking the current practice note.
Must not be given client information while drafting the policy.

The lawyer checks

The permitted-use table reflects the firm's actual tools, contracts and risk appetite.
Schedule 1 is current for every forum the firm appears in.
Roles are assigned to named people who have the time and authority to perform them.

Once the policy is approved

In the firm workspace the approved policy is the one everyone, and every AI app they connect, reads:

Everyone in the firm is asked to read it and confirm. Owners and admins see who has, and can send a reminder. The confirmations are kept with the date.
Connected AI apps (Claude, ChatGPT and others) load a short digest of it at the start of a session: approved tools, information never to be entered, checks a lawyer must do, and when to tell the client. They open their answers with the policy’s name, version and approval date.
Every version is kept, with who approved it and when, and the whole record can be downloaded.

How to connect an AI app to the firm: Connect your AI. The longer guide: law firm AI policy in Australia. Other governance precedents: AI decision systems.

General information, not legal advice. The master policy is a starting draft for the firm to adapt and approve.