Is it allowed to use AI for due diligence in Australia?
Yes, inside an approved data-room tool, with a written scope and a lawyer who samples the set and signs the report.
Guide
How to use AI for due diligence in Australia
Due diligence with a tool is a sample and a red-flag list. The report is still the lawyer’s, and so is every document the tool did not flag.
Steps
Write the red-flag categories before the upload
List what the deal actually cares about: change of control, litigation, privacy, key-person, foreign ownership, unusual indemnity. An empty “summarise the data room” prompt is not a scope. The Law Society of New South Wales guide expects you to understand the question the tool was given.
Use a data-room tool the firm has approved
Read the hosting, training and exit terms with the joint law societies’ 2026 selection checklist. Queensland Guidance Statement No. 37’s confidentiality questions apply to the whole room, including documents you expect the tool to ignore.
Review a sample and every flagged document
Read every document the tool flags, and a sample of the ones it does not. A missed contract is the usual failure. The Uniform Law regulators’ statement does not let the firm sign a report it has not sampled.
The lawyer signs the report
The report states the scope, the tool, the sample and the limits. The lawyer who signs it can explain a finding without opening the dashboard. If a category was not reviewed, the report says so.
Record the checks: Commercial and corporate tasks · Open the court note for the forum · Read the Harvey profile before you upload a file
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways.
| Tool | Australian data hosting | Profile region | Pricing model | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey | Offered | yes | Enterprise quote · Pricing | Legal research, Contract drafting, Contract review and redlining, Clause libraries and playbooks, Due-diligence document review, Chronology building, Document summarisation, Knowledge search |
| Relativity aiR | Offered | yes | Enterprise quote · Pricing | eDiscovery document review, Chronology building, Document summarisation, Contract review and redlining, Transcription, Translation, Agentic workflows |
| Everlaw | See the comparison that lists it | yes | Usage or credits · Pricing | eDiscovery document review, Chronology building, Document summarisation, Transcription, Translation, Agentic workflows |
Sources
Commercial and corporate tasks · Contract review · Australian data hosting · Relativity · All guides
Questions
What tools are used for due diligence?
The catalogue includes Harvey, Relativity and Everlaw. Read the hosting field on the profile before a client room is uploaded.
Does a clean dashboard mean the room is clean?
No. Read the unflagged sample. A document the tool did not mention is not a pass.