Ask a New South Wales holder to keep records, without asserting a duty
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the facts the lawyer supplies, draft a short letter asking the holder to keep identified incident records. The letter asks only. It does not say the holder must produce documents.
- What the lawyer must review
- Settle the letter and check that it asks only
- Do not assert a right to production
- Do not put the client's records into a public generative tool
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. New South Wales
Produce. A short letter that asks a holder to keep identified records.
Have ready. The holder the lawyer has named; The records the lawyer has identified.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The letter asks a hospital to keep the emergency notes. It does not say the hospital must send them.
Stop and hand it back when
- The letter would say the holder must produce the records.
- The lawyer has not named the holder or the records.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the facts the lawyer supplies, draft a short letter asking the holder to keep identified incident records. The letter asks only. It does not say the holder must produce documents. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Do not say the holder is obliged to keep or to produce the records. This letter asks only.
- Name only the records the lawyer has identified, such as an incident report, a wage record, or a treatment record. Do not describe the injury beyond what the lawyer has written into the instructions.
- Practice note SC Gen 23, paragraphs 7(e) and 8, warn that a public generative tool may not protect confidentiality, privacy or privilege, and that entered data may be used to train the model. Draft the letter in a firm-controlled tool.
- The letter is a document the holder receives. The lawyer reads it before it is sent. It is not a person's evidence.
Sources
- Supreme Court of NSW, Practice Note SC Gen 23, paragraphs 7 to 9A · 2026-10-23
- Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015 (NSW), rule 9.1 · 2026-10-23
Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. The lawyer applies ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and decides whether any breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
If a proceeding later compels production, paragraph 9A of the practice note applies to material produced on subpoena or subject to the Harman undertaking. This letter is not that step.