Guide
People without a lawyer use ChatGPT because it is available. Courts have started writing guidelines for them. The case still has to exist, and the court still has to be told when its rule says so.
Queensland courts publish generative AI guidelines for people who do not have a lawyer. Other courts publish their own notes. Read the note for the court named on your form. Legal Aid NSW’s material on generative AI in the legal system is background. It does not replace the court’s page. A note from another state can tell you the kind of mistake to avoid. It is not permission in this court.
Search the case name on AustLII or the court’s own site. If you cannot open it, do not put it in the document. The public tracker of Australian cases in which invented citations were used is a list of what happens when that check is skipped. It is not a practice note. One chatbot cannot check another chatbot.
Some courts want a statement that a generative tool was used. Some want a statement that it was not used for particular documents. Copy the form from the note of the court you are in. Do not invent a disclosure paragraph. If you can get advice from Legal Aid or a community legal centre, do that before you rely on a draft.
Record the checks on a task checklist · Open the court note for the forum
Queensland courts AI practice direction · Checking citations · NSW SC Gen 23 · Australian cases on invented citations · All guides
Courts generally do not ban a person from using a tool to help prepare. They do require the court’s own guideline to be followed, and they treat a fake case as the person’s document.
ChatGPT is a general chatbot, not a legal research service. Check every case on AustLII. This site does not recommend it for a court document.
No. If you file it, it is your document. Remove any case you cannot open.
