---
title: "Close a Victorian injury file and list what is returned, kept or destroyed"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/close-the-personal-injury-file-and-decide-what-is-returned-kept-or-destr/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-ST20261023-10-VIC"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Close a Victorian injury file and list what is returned, kept or destroyed

> In a firm-controlled tool, list the documents to return, the documents to keep, and the documents proposed for destruction, each with the reason the opened rule or guidance gives. The tool does not destroy anything.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/close-the-personal-injury-file-and-decide-what-is-returned-kept-or-destr/victoria  
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 | In a firm-controlled tool, list the documents to return, the documents to keep, and the documents proposed for destruction, each with the reason the opened rule or guidance gives. The tool does not destroy anything. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide what is returned, kept or destroyed, and confirm any consent before a hard copy is destroyed. Check whether an Australian law or a court order requires the record to be kept. Read rule 14.2 before you apply the seven-year sentence. Originals of evidentiary value stay. |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Close the personal injury file and decide what is returned, kept or destroyed](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/close-the-personal-injury-file-and-decide-what-is-returned-kept-or-destr.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The lawyer decides retention and destruction. Rule 14.2 permits destruction after seven years, with the exceptions the rule states.

- What the AI does: In a firm-controlled tool, list the documents to return, the documents to keep, and the documents proposed for destruction, each with the reason the opened rule or guidance gives. The tool does not destroy anything.
- What the lawyer does: Make the legal assessment, check the source material and authorise the output for its intended use.
- 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. On completion or termination, rule 14.1 requires client documents to be given when requested, unless there is an effective lien.
2. Rule 14.2 permits destruction after 7 years from completion or termination, except where client instructions or legal obligations are to the contrary.
3. The LIV guidelines say hard copies are not destroyed before 7 years without client consent. The Board says originals of evidentiary value are not destroyed.
4. Health records stay in a firm-controlled tool. APP 11.2 does not override a law or a court order that requires retention.

## Notes

- Rule 14.1: on completion or termination of the engagement, the client, former client, or another person they authorise, is given the client documents, or copies if they are electronic, as soon as reasonably possible when requested, unless there is an effective lien. Rule 14.2: a solicitor or law practice may destroy client documents after 7 years from completion or termination of the engagement, except where client instructions or legal obligations are to the contrary. The text opened is the New South Wales consolidation of the Uniform rules, which apply in Victoria.
- The Law Institute of Victoria guidelines quote that seven-year sentence and attribute it to rule 14.2. They say hard copies may be destroyed before 7 years only with client consent, and that where the client asks for the file the solicitor must promptly make the client's documents available without charge unless the client earlier authorised a charge in writing, subject to an enforceable lien. Collection in person is not charged. Other delivery may be charged. The guidelines refer to the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). That Act was not opened. The Victorian Legal Services Board says originals of evidentiary value must not be destroyed, including original wills, will instructions, sealed court orders, and original hard-copy agreements or contracts. It says a seven-year hold of scanned hard copies is a practical suggestion where permission is mixed, not a statute, and that the Public Records Office suggests three months in day boxes. It points to rule 14 for when digital documents may be deleted.
- The OAIC guidelines say APP 11.2 requires an APP entity to take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information once it is no longer needed, unless it is in a Commonwealth record or an Australian law or a court or tribunal order requires it to be kept. The lawyer checks whether the firm is an APP entity, and decides whether a breach would be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If the product supports a court document, apply the note for that court: Supreme Court Practice Note SC GEN 25 (14 May 2026), the County Court practice note on artificial intelligence by court users (9 June 2026), or the Magistrates' Court guidelines issued 19 October 2026. One tool cannot verify another. Do not put confidential or sensitive information into a public tool.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Victoria: closing an injury file, and what is returned, kept or destroyed

**Deliverable**: A closure list of documents to return, keep or destroy, with the opened reason for each. Nothing is destroyed by the tool.

**Inputs**

- The documents on the file
- The date the engagement ended
- Any client instruction or lien the lawyer marks

**Example**: Illustrative example: The engagement ended last month. The list marks the client's originals to return, a sealed order to keep, and copies proposed for destruction only after seven years unless the client consents sooner. The lawyer decides. Nothing is destroyed.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The tool would destroy a document.
- An original of evidentiary value is on the destruction list.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015, rule 14 (NSW consolidation)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/lpulascr2015658/s2.14.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Law Institute of Victoria: file ownership, retention and destruction guidelines](https://www.liv.asn.au/download.aspx?DocumentVersionKey=73dcb2c9-df65-41b1-8dc7-8ef86840a5bf) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner: going digital, record keeping](https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/lawyers/practising-law/running-law-practice/going-digital-record-keeping-guidance) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [OAIC: Australian Privacy Principle 11 guidelines](https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-11-app-11-security-of-personal-information) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [File retention and destruction schedule](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/confidentiality-and-client-information/firm-file-retention-destruction-schedule.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Schedule for keeping, returning or destroying a closed plaintiff injury file, using the client-documents rule opened for New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and the separate privacy duty. |

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.*