---
title: "Check an enquirer's authority without treating a relative as authorised"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-the-authority-of-a-person-enquiring-for-someone-else/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-IN20261023-4-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Check an enquirer's authority without treating a relative as authorised

> List the enquirer's stated relationship and any order or instrument the enquirer produces. Do not decide that the enquirer can give instructions.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-the-authority-of-a-person-enquiring-for-someone-else/new-south-wales  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

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

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List the enquirer's stated relationship and any order or instrument the enquirer produces. Do not decide that the enquirer can give instructions. Do not treat a spouse, parent or child as authorised because of that relationship. |
| What the lawyer must review | Read any order or instrument against the rule that applies A relationship does not authorise the enquirer Do not state a power of attorney rule. None is in the sections used here. |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Check the authority of a person enquiring for someone else](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-the-authority-of-a-person-enquiring-for-someone-else.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The list records what the enquirer says and what they produce. Authority is the lawyer's decision.

- What the AI does: List the enquirer's stated relationship and any order or instrument the enquirer produces. Do not decide that the enquirer can give instructions. Do not treat a spouse, parent or child as authorised because of that relationship.
- What the lawyer does: Decide whether the enquirer can give instructions.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Rule 8.1 says a solicitor must only accept and follow a client's lawful, proper and competent instructions. The enquirer's relationship is not that decision.
2. Rule 7.15 does not appoint a relative as tutor. A person may become a tutor without a formal instrument, subject to that Division, but becoming a tutor is a step in proceedings. It is not authority to give instructions at the enquiry.
3. Rule 7.15(3) makes the manager the tutor only for proceedings with respect to an estate that is under management, and only unless the manager declines, is unable, or the court orders otherwise. Do not treat a manager as able to instruct on an injury enquiry merely because an estate is managed.
4. No powers of attorney statute was opened. If the enquirer produces an instrument, the lawyer reads it. The list does not say what the instrument authorises.

## Notes

- 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).

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: New South Wales

**Deliverable**: A note of the stated relationship and of any order or instrument produced.

**Inputs**

- The relationship the enquirer states
- Any order or instrument produced

**Example**: Illustrative example: A spouse telephones about the injury. The note records 'spouse' and that no instrument was produced. It does not say the spouse can instruct.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The tool would treat the relationship as authority.
- An instrument is produced and the tool would state what it authorises.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015 (NSW), rule 8.1](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/lpulascr2015658/s2.8.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rule 7.15](https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/ucpr2005305/s7.15.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Capacity and instructions checklist](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/capacity-and-instructions-checklist.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Checklist for whether the injured person can instruct on the decision in front of them today. It records observations and the support tried, and it does not certify that the person lacks capacity. |
| [Identity and authority checklist for a client overseas](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/overseas-client-identity-and-authority.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Checklist for taking instructions from a client who is overseas: how identity was seen, how the authority comes back, and that an apostille is not an identity check. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

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