Is it allowed to use AI for checking citations in Australia?
A tool may help you list citations. The check that they exist and support the point is a person’s work. SC Gen 23 says a generative tool must not be the only verification.
Guide
How to use AI for checking citations in Australia
A citation check is a list of authorities opened by a person. It is not a second prompt that asks whether the first prompt was right.
Steps
Extract every authority from the draft
List cases, statutes, quotes and pinpoints, including ones inside footnotes and expert reports. A tool can build that list from the document. A person decides the list is complete by reading the draft once themselves.
Check that each one exists
Open the authority on AustLII, JADE or an authorised report. A chatbot reply that says “this case is real” is not a check. SC Gen 23 forbids relying on a generative tool alone for that verification. SC Gen 25 says one generative tool cannot confirm another, and that a person may check original source material housed inside a generative tool. Read the passage either way.
Check the pinpoint and the quote
Read the paragraph. GPN-AI requires the authority to support the proposition. A real case cited for the opposite of its holding is still a false citation. Correct the quote or take it out.
Fix or remove anything you cannot verify
If you cannot open it, it does not stay in the document. Do not leave it “to be checked later” in a draft that might be filed by someone else. The hallucination cases started as drafts someone trusted.
File a note of the check
Record the date, the person, the number of authorities and any that were removed. That note is what a disclosure paragraph is written from if the court asks. It is also what a supervisor reads.
Record the checks on a task checklist · 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 |
Sources
Legal research · Written submissions · NSW SC Gen 23 · Victoria SC Gen 25 · Australian cases on invented citations · JADE · All guides
Questions
What tools are used for checking citations?
JADE and other research services in the catalogue open Australian authorities. Use them as a library, then read the passage.
Is a real medium-neutral citation enough?
No. GPN-AI requires the authority to support the proposition. Open the pinpoint.