---
title: "South Australia"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia"
type: "jurisdiction"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "SA"
kind: "state"
country: "AU"
parent: "Australia"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-11"
---

# South Australia

> The Courts Administration Authority says its generative AI guidelines apply from 1 January 2026 to proceedings in the Supreme Court, District Court, Magistrates Court, Youth Court, Environment, Resources and…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-11

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

Guidelines for generative AI in South Australian courts, applying from 1 January 2026 across the courts named by the Courts Administration Authority.

Recorded 10 Oct 2026: Artificial Intelligence Hub.

The Courts Administration Authority page, read on 22 September 2026, is the primary public source. It includes a download of the guidelines and an information sheet for self-represented litigants. Use the guideline, not the information sheet, as the practitioner text.

The Law Society of New South Wales court-protocol table, current as at 14 May 2026, points to this South Australian material. That table is an index. The Authority’s page is the source.

## Key facts

- Kind: State
- Task versions written for this jurisdiction: 6
- AI instruments recorded: 21

## Summary

The Courts Administration Authority says its generative AI guidelines apply from 1 January 2026 to proceedings in the Supreme Court, District Court, Magistrates Court, Youth Court, Environment, Resources and Development Court and Court of Disputed Returns. The rules were expected to pick the guidelines up. Read the PDF on that page. Do not apply a New South Wales or Victorian note in its place.

## Jurisdiction note

The announcement names six South Australian courts. If your matter is in SACAT or another body not on that list, look for that body’s own direction.

## AI rules and guidance (21)

| Instrument | Issuer | Kind | Effective | Source type | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Artificial Intelligence Hub](https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/site/site/for-legal-practitioners/resource-hubs/ai-hub.aspx) | Law Society of South Australia | law_society_resource | Not stated | Primary source | Resources, guidance, an implementation tool and templates for SA practitioners on AI and generative AI use. |
| [Information for self-represented litigants regarding the use of Generative AI in litigation](https://www.saet.sa.gov.au/app/uploads/2026/06/Gen-AI-Information-Sheet-for-Self-Represented-Litigants-3.pdf) | South Australian Employment Tribunal | information_sheet | Not stated | Primary source | Information sheet for self-represented litigants, published by SAET alongside the SA courts' Gen AI guidelines, on restrictions on uploading litigation documents and verifying AI-supplied sources. |
| [Referral to the LPCC for the citation of fake cases](https://www.saet.sa.gov.au/2025/10/16/referral-to-the-lpcc-for-the-citation-of-fake-cases/) | South Australian Employment Tribunal | practice_notice | 2025-10-17 | Primary source | SAET notice by Justice Steven Dolphin, dated 17 October 2025, reminding practitioners of duties not to mislead and warning of Gen AI "hallucinations", following a referral to the Legal Profession… |
| [SAET adopts Supreme Court Gen AI guidelines](https://www.saet.sa.gov.au/2026/06/25/saet-adopts-supreme-court-gen-ai-guidelines/) | SA Employment Tribunal | tribunal_adoption | 2026-06-26 | Primary source | SAET adopts the SA courts' Gen AI guidelines (in force 1 Jan 2026 across Supreme, District, Magistrates, Youth, ERD Courts) and issues an information sheet for self-represented litigants;… |
| [Fact sheet: Complainant use of AI](https://lpcc.sa.gov.au/files/148_complainant_use_of_ai_fact_sheet_6e504.pdf?v=766) | Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner SA | regulator_fact_sheet | 2026-09-04 | Primary source | SA LPCC fact sheet on complainants using generative AI (Gemini, Copilot, ChatGPT) to prepare complaints. |
| [Generative AI in courts: the rules and risks explained](https://lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/news/generative-AI-in-courts-FAQ.php?lscsa_prod%5Bpage%5D=30) | Legal Services Commission SA | legal_aid_guidance | 2026-06-25 | Primary source | Legal Services Commission SA plain-language FAQ for the public on Gen AI in SA courts. |
| [How to make a complaint: generative AI disclosure](https://ombudsman.sa.gov.au/make-a-complaint/how-to-make-a-complaint) | Ombudsman SA (FOI) | ombudsman_statement | Not stated | Primary source | Ombudsman SA asks complainants (incl. FOI applicants) to say if they used generative AI. |
| [Artificial Intelligence Hub - The Law Society of South Australia](https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/resource?resource=134) | Law Society of South Australia | law_society_guidance | 2026-07-01 | Primary source | Law Society of South Australia publishes “Artificial Intelligence Hub - The Law Society of South Australia”.… |
| [Artificial Intelligence, Real Problems: Evidence in the Age of AI](https://bulletin.lawsocietysa.asn.au/Bulletin/Bulletin/Content/Articles/2025/June/Artificial_Intelligence_Real_Problems_Evidence_in_the_Age_of_AI.aspx) | Law Society of South Australia | law_society_guidance | Not stated | Secondary source | Law Society of South Australia publishes “Artificial Intelligence, Real Problems: Evidence in the Age of AI”. Checked 2026-10-10. Read the linked page before relying on it. |
| [Supreme Court issues Artificial Intelligence Guidelines](https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/site/site/news-media-and-advocacy/recent-advocacy-notes/supreme-court-issues-artificial-intelligence-guidelines.aspx) | Law Society of South Australia | law_society_guidance | Not stated | Primary source | Law Society of South Australia publishes “Supreme Court issues Artificial Intelligence Guidelines”.… |
| [amica - Legal Services Commission of South Australia](https://lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/amica.php) | Legal Services Commission of SA | government_guidance | Not stated | Primary source | Legal Services Commission of SA publishes “amica - Legal Services Commission of South Australia”.… |
| [No AI guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026.](https://sacat.sa.gov.au) | SACAT | no_guidance_note | Not stated | Primary source | No SACAT AI guidance found; SA courts guidelines invite tribunal adoption. |
| [No AI guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026.](https://sabar.org.au) | SA Bar Association | no_guidance_note | Not stated | Primary source | Only barrister profiles; no guidance. |
| [Guidelines concerning the use of Generative artificial intelligence in litigation in South Australian Courts](https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/2025/12/24/guidelines-concerning-the-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-in-litigation-in-south-australian-courts/) | South Australian Courts | court_guideline | 2026-01-01 | Primary source | These guidelines apply to and in respect of steps taken in proceedings in the Supreme Court, District Court, Magistrates Court, Youth Court, Environment, Resources and Development Court and Court of… |
| [Supreme Court issues guidelines for the use of Generative AI](https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/2026/01/19/supreme-court-issues-guidelines-for-the-use-of-generative-ai/) | Supreme Court of South Australia | court_statement | 2026-01-19 | Primary source | Announcement dated 19 January 2026. After a survey launched by the Chief Justice in May 2025, the Judges of the Supreme Court approved guidelines for Gen AI.… |
| [No new AI guidance found: South Australian Bar Association](https://sabar.org.au/) | South Australian Bar Association | notice | Not stated | Secondary source | No new AI guidance found (beyond items already captured) as of 10 Oct 2026; site search: site:sabar.org.au artificial intelligence |
| [No new AI guidance found: Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner SA](https://lpcc.sa.gov.au/) | Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner SA | notice | Not stated | Secondary source | No new AI guidance found (beyond items already captured) as of 10 Oct 2026; site search: site:lpcc.sa.gov.au artificial intelligence |
| [Privacy and FOI and AI: South Australia](https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/protective-security-framework/information-management/privacy) | Department of the Premier and Cabinet (South Australia) | government_guidance | Not stated | Secondary source | No privacy statute; Information Privacy Principles Instruction (Premier and Cabinet Circular PC012) binds agencies. FOI: Freedom of Information Act 1991 (SA).… |
| [No guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026: South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal](https://www.sacat.sa.gov.au/) | South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal | no_guidance_note | Not stated | Primary source | No SACAT-specific AI practice direction or guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026 (homepage, Who we are and Preparing for a hearing checked; site search returned nothing on AI;… |
| [No guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026: Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner (SA)](https://lpcc.sa.gov.au/) | Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner (SA) | no_guidance_note | Not stated | Primary source | No new LPCC practitioner AI guidance found beyond the existing complainant AI fact sheet as of 10 Oct 2026 (homepage and making-a-complaint page checked). |
| [No guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026: South Australian Bar Association](https://sabar.org.au/) | South Australian Bar Association | no_guidance_note | Not stated | Primary source | No SA Bar AI guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026 (homepage, Useful Resources and News checked). |

- Information for self-represented litigants regarding the use of Generative AI in litigation: Undated; uploaded to SAET site June 2026 (per URL path).
- Referral to the LPCC for the citation of fake cases: The notice is dated 17 October 2025. The web address uses 16 October 2025.
- Artificial Intelligence, Real Problems: Evidence in the Age of AI: This is commentary or news, not a conduct rule.
- No new AI guidance found: South Australian Bar Association: No new AI guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026. This is a search result, not a decision that the body will not publish guidance.
- No new AI guidance found: Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner SA: No new AI guidance found as of 10 Oct 2026. This is a search result, not a decision that the body will not publish guidance.
- Privacy and FOI and AI: South Australia: Statute names from official sources; how they apply to AI is a summary to verify.

## What to open first

Download the South Australian guideline and match it to the court named in your matter before you set a checking standard from interstate.

## Review checklist

- Confirm the proceeding is in one of the courts named in the 1 January 2026 announcement.
- Download the current guideline from the Courts Administration Authority and read it against the document you are preparing.
- Verify citations in a trusted source. Do not treat another state’s practice note as the South Australian rule.
- Keep confidential and suppressed material out of public tools unless the guideline you have read allows that environment.
- Keep witness evidence in the witness’s own words while you confirm what the guideline says about affidavits and experts.

## Jurisdiction-specific considerations

- The announcement is not a substitute for the PDF.
- A self-represented information sheet is written for a different reader.
- Do not assume SACAT is covered because the ERD Court is named. Read the list.

## Further check from the 22 September research

The South Australian guidelines, which apply from 1 January 2026, do not ban generative AI in witness statements. They say a lawyer must still make sure the statement fairly and fully reflects the witness’s own memory and language. A draft from an accurate interview transcript can be appropriate with the witness’s consent. It is a poor fit where the evidence is short, the case is criminal, the witness may not carefully check a draft, or the words of a conversation matter. The draft should not be shown to the witness before the lawyer has tested the witness’s memory against it, and it must not be built from another witness’s evidence or instructed to prove a desired proposition.

## Further check from the 22 September research

The guidelines treat documents obtained by compulsion as subject to the implied obligation not to use them for another purpose. Suppression orders, privileged material, settlement negotiations and other confidential documents raise the same risk. Unless the lawyer is satisfied the system is closed, uploading those documents for analysis should be treated as a breach, and possibly a contempt. The guidelines also say a “closed” label can be too simple: ask whether information is used to retrain the model and whether it is kept after the agreement ends.

## Tasks that change here (6)

| Task | Level | How AI is used |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Apply the South Australian court guideline before filing](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/apply-the-south-australian-court-guideline-before-filing.md) | Red | Extract citations and factual propositions from a draft into a list the lawyer will check after reading the South Australian guideline. |
| [Separate South Australian procedure from interstate precedents](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/separate-south-australian-procedure-from-interstate-precedents.md) | Yellow | Flag procedural steps in a draft that cite a court rule, and list the jurisdiction each citation claims to be from. |
| [Keep a South Australian affidavit in the witness’s own words](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/keep-a-south-australian-affidavit-in-the-witness-s-own-words.md) | Red | The tool drafts no part of the affidavit or witness statement and suggests no wording for it, in the document or beside it: no draft, no first draft, no… |
| [Decide whether a South Australian discovery or suppressed document may be uploaded](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/decide-whether-a-south-australian-discovery-or-suppressed-document-may-b.md) | Red | Organise a list of document categories from filenames the lawyer has already cleared. Do not upload the documents themselves. |
| [Check a South Australian payment claim against the authorised 2009 Act before it is served](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/check-a-south-australian-payment-claim-against-the-authorised-2009-act-b.md) | Red | Extract the reference date, the claimed amount, the contract payment date and the premises where the work is carried out into a checking list. |
| [Prepare a South Australian payment schedule, or count the section 17 adjudication window](https://ailawframework.com/jurisdictions/south-australia/prepare-a-south-australian-payment-schedule-or-count-the-section-17-adju.md) | Red | Extract the day the payment claim was served, the contract schedule clause, the claimed amount and any schedule already served into a dated table. |

## Sources

- [South Australian courts: generative AI guidelines from 1 January 2026](https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/2025/12/24/guidelines-concerning-the-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-in-litigation-in-south-australian-courts/) (checked 2026-09-22)
- [Law Society of New South Wales: court protocols on AI, current as at 14 May 2026](https://www.lawsociety.com.au/AI-hub/court-protocols-ai) (checked 2026-09-22)

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