Check a Victorian expert referral against the court expert code
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- Organise the proposed specialty, the question, and the source list into an internal checklist. Do not choose the expert, book the appointment, or draft the letter the expert will receive.
- What the lawyer must review
- Select the expert and the question yourself
- Match the code to the court: County Court rules of 2018, or Supreme Court rules of 2025
- A Medical Panel referral is not a private booking
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria: a proposed expert report for the County Court or the Supreme Court, distinct from a Medical Panels referral
Produce. An internal referral checklist. The lawyer writes any letter.
Have ready. The question the lawyer wants answered; The proposed specialty and the expert's details; The record list the lawyer has selected.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The checklist shows an orthopaedic question and a psychiatric question on the same booking. The lawyer splits them or confirms one expert can answer both, then writes the letter. The tool does not send it.
Stop and hand it back when
- The proposal is actually a Medical Panels referral.
- The court that will receive the report is unknown, so the correct Form 44A cannot be identified.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. Organise the proposed specialty, the question, and the source list into an internal checklist. Do not choose the expert, book the appointment, or draft the letter the expert will receive. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- If a report may be used in the County Court, the practice note of 9 June 2026 says an expert report must comply with the relevant code. Its footnote identifies Form 44A of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018.
- If a report may be used in the Supreme Court, Practice Note SC GEN 25 says the same caution and its footnote identifies Form 44A of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025.
- Do not treat a Medical Panels referral as this booking. Medical Panels Victoria takes workers compensation referrals and Wrongs Act referrals and gives legally binding answers to medical questions.
- The letter of instruction, if one is sent, is written by the lawyer. Health records are not pasted into a public tool to prepare it.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of instruction to an orthopaedic surgeon | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an orthopaedic surgeon for diagnosis, causation, capacity and prognosis in a plaintiff claim, with the expert code and artificial intelligence rule for Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales. |
| Letter of instruction to a psychiatrist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist for diagnosis, causation, treatment and capacity in a plaintiff claim, and for a clinical view on recognised psychiatric illness, without asking for the legal test. |
| Letter of instruction to an occupational therapist on care | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an occupational therapist to record care hours, duration, paid and gratuitous help, aids and equipment, without applying a damages threshold or valuing the claim. |
| Letter of instruction to a forensic accountant | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a forensic accountant to calculate past and future loss of earning capacity on stated assumptions, with the discount rate, percentage and superannuation rate left for the lawyer. |
| Letter of instruction to an engineer | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an engineer for the condition, the mechanism and the available precautions in a plaintiff claim, with the precautions section named by the lawyer and no conclusion on negligence. |
| Psychiatrist's instructions on a recognised psychiatric illness | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist whether there is a recognised psychiatric illness for a mental harm claim, without asking the psychiatrist to apply the statutory tests. |
| Letter of instruction to a vocational assessor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a vocational assessor for realistic occupations, hours and sourced earnings, without a diagnosis, an impairment score or a valuation. |
| Questions for a treating doctor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a treating doctor for the dates, recorded diagnosis, treatment and certificates, with a separate opinion section that is sent only if the expert code is enclosed. |
| Magistrates' Court WorkCover referral to a Medical Panel: completion guide | Form | AI use Red | Link to the Magistrates' Court form parties or their practitioners complete and submit with an application to refer a WorkCover matter to a Medical Panel. |
| County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel: guide | Form | AI use Red | Guide to the County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel in a serious injury application for a work injury, from the Common Law Division Practice Note of 9 February 2026. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- County Court of Victoria: Use of Artificial Intelligence by Court Users Practice Note · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of Victoria: Practice Note SC GEN 25, use of artificial intelligence by court users · 2026-10-23
- Medical Panels Victoria · 2026-10-23
The two courts name different years of rules for Form 44A. Open the code for the court that will receive the report.
Particular caution applies to expert reports under both practice notes. The tool writes none of the report.