Is it allowed to use AI for summarising cases in Australia?
Yes, as a reading aid over a judgment you have. Citing the summary, or citing a case you have not opened, is a different and unsafe step.
Guide
How to use AI for summarising cases in Australia
A case summary is a reading aid. It is not the authority, and it is not what you cite.
Steps
Upload the judgment you already have
Use an approved tool and the judgment you downloaded, not a prompt that asks the tool to recall the case from memory. Queensland Guidance Statement No. 37 applies to the upload if the judgment is accompanied by client instructions or a brief.
Ask for holdings with paragraph numbers
Ask for the holding and the paragraph. A summary without paragraph numbers cannot be checked quickly. The Law Society of New South Wales guide treats an unexplained output as something the solicitor does not yet understand.
Check the summary against the judgment
Read the paragraphs the summary names. Correct the summary where it overstates the holding or drops a limitation. The Uniform Law regulators’ statement leaves that reading with you.
Do not cite the summary
Cite the case and the paragraph, after you have opened them. The summary can sit in a notebook. It does not go in a list of authorities. If you cannot find the paragraph, the summary is wrong.
Record the checks: Commercial litigation tasks · Open the court note for the forum · Read the JADE Professional profile before you upload a file
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways.
| Tool | Australian data hosting | Profile region | Pricing model | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JADE Professional | Offered | yes | Per seat · Pricing | Legal research, Case-law summarisation |
| Lexis+ AI with Protégé | Offered | yes | Enterprise quote · Pricing | Legal research, Case-law summarisation, Contract drafting, Document summarisation, Chronology building, Knowledge search, Agentic workflows |
| Practical Law Australia | See the comparison that lists it | unknown | Not established | Legal research, Knowledge search, Document summarisation, Clause libraries and playbooks, Agentic workflows, Advice and memoranda drafting, Legislative comparison |
Sources
Legal research · Checking citations · Commercial litigation tasks · JADE · All guides
Questions
What tools are used for summarising cases?
JADE, Lexis+ AI and Practical Law Australia are in the catalogue. The judgment itself is the source, whichever tool you use.
Can I paste a summary into submissions?
Only the propositions you have checked against the judgment, rewritten as your submission, with the pinpoint. The summary is not the submission.