---
title: "Law firm AI policy: template, builder and what the courts require"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/ai-policy"
type: "ai_policy_hub"
site: "AI Law Framework"
precedent_id: "a45-law-firm-ai-use-policy"
precedent_version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

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

> What a law firm’s AI policy must cover, a master AI-use policy to adopt, a builder that drafts one from your answers, and the Australian court and tribunal rules on AI it has to reflect.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/ai-policy  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

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

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.

## Key facts

- For: Australian law practices of any size, and the staff and AI tools they use
- Ways to start: [the policy builder](https://ailawframework.com/policy), adopt the master policy, or upload your own
- Master policy: 22 clauses and 2 schedules, version 1, law stated as at 2026-10-17
- 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

- **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

1. **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. Start at [Open the policy builder](https://ailawframework.com/policy).
2. **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. Sign in at https://ailawframework.com/sign-in?next=%2Fai-policy%23adopt and adopt it from https://ailawframework.com/ai-policy#adopt.
3. **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. Start at [Upload your policy](https://ailawframework.com/firm/policies).

## 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

Public details: [Law firm AI use policy (master firm policy)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/ai-decision-systems/law-firm-ai-use-policy.md). The full text and drafting notes are for signed-in firm accounts, on the site and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

## 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:

- [Federal Court of Australia, Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Practice Note (GPN-AI), 16 April 2026](https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-documents/practice-notes/gpn-ai)
- [Supreme Court of NSW Practice Note SC Gen 23 – Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), commenced 3 February 2025](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/documents/Practice-and-Procedure/Practice-Notes/general/current/PN_SC_Gen_23.pdf)
- [Supreme Court of Victoria Practice Note SC Gen 25 (The use of Artificial Intelligence by Court users), 14 May 2026](https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/areas/legal-resources/practice-notes/sc-gen-25-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-by-court-users)
- [Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Practice Direction: Use of Artificial Intelligence (PD-AI), 29 May 2026](https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-05/fcfcoa_pd_-_use_of_artificial_intelligence_-_pd-ai_-_0526v1.pdf)
- [Supreme Court of Queensland Practice Direction 5 of 2025 (Accuracy of references in submissions)](https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/882064/sc-pd-5-pf-2025.pdf)
- [Fair Work Commission, Guidance note: Use of generative artificial intelligence in Commission cases (commences 20 October 2026)](https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/resources/guidance-note-use-of-generative-ai-in-commission-cases.pdf)

Every Australian forum’s current rules: [AI rules tracker](https://ailawframework.com/ai-rules.md) and [court AI practice notes](https://ailawframework.com/courts.md).

## How AI may help write it

AI level: 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

- 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.

Connect an AI app to the firm: [Connect your AI](https://ailawframework.com/connect.md). The longer guide: [law firm AI policy in Australia](https://ailawframework.com/guides/law-firm-ai-policy-australia.md).

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