Instruct an NSW expert and check the report against the code
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Turn the lawyer's issues list into a letter of instruction that asks for the applicable code acknowledgement and the AI disclosure the forum requires, then table assumptions and missing disclosures on the draft report.
- What the lawyer must review
- The expert's duty is to the court or the Commission, not to the party
- A court report needs prior leave before generative AI is used to draft it
- A Commission report must disclose generative AI use. Draw PIC13 to the expert
- The referral of the client is a separate step from this instruction
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. NSW Supreme Court or District Court, or the Personal Injury Commission
Produce. A letter of instruction and, once the draft report arrives, a table of assumptions and missing disclosures.
Have ready. The issues list settled by the lawyer; The forum; The draft report, when it arrives.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The letter asks an orthopaedic expert to acknowledge Schedule 7 and to state whether generative AI was used. The later table marks that the report lists assumptions but does not acknowledge the code.
Stop and hand it back when
- The forum is not known.
- The letter would ask the expert to reach a percentage the lawyer has already chosen.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Turn the lawyer's issues list into a letter of instruction that asks for the applicable code acknowledgement and the AI disclosure the forum requires, then table assumptions and missing disclosures on the draft report. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- For a court report, ask the expert to acknowledge Schedule 7, including the paramount duty to the court, the assumptions, and the declaration of inquiries.
- Practice Note SC Gen 23, paragraph 24, requires the letter to draw the practice note to the expert. Paragraph 20 prohibits drafting the report with generative AI without prior leave of the court.
- Paragraph 23 requires leave at the first directions hearing for a professional negligence report under rule 31.36 and for a report attached to a pre-filing statement under section 315 of the 1998 Act.
- For the Commission, Procedural Direction PIC13, paragraph 26, requires the letter to draw PIC13, PIC4 and the PIC Rules to the expert. Paragraph 22 requires disclosure if generative AI is used to draft the report.
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. |
| TAC serious injury application form (Common Law Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request a serious injury certificate under Part 6 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Common Law Protocols 2026, including the section 93(17) limbs and the signed authority. |
| 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. |
| Agenda for a conference of experts | Letter | AI use Yellow | Note to experts after a direction to confer, setting the arrangements and the issues, and stating the joint-report rule in Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales. |
| Letter of instruction to an actuary on future loss | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an actuary to value future earnings and future treatment streams on the lawyer's assumptions, with the rate, percentage and life table left blank. |
| Supplementary questions after an expert report | Letter | AI use Yellow | Short letter sending further documents and asking whether the expert's opinion on a material matter has changed, with the supplementary-report duty for each state. |
| WorkSafe Form A, application for common law damages: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to WorkSafe Form A for an application under section 328 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 or section 134AB(4) of the Accident Compensation Act 1985. |
| WorkSafe Form D, authority to release medical information: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to WorkSafe Form D, the signed authority and consent to release medical information that accompanies a common law damages application. |
| 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
- Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Schedule 7 · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of NSW: Practice Note SC Gen 23 · 2026-10-23
- Personal Injury Commission: Procedural Direction PIC13 · 2026-10-23
The letter is sent to the expert, so the lawyer checks every letter. The tool does not write the expert's opinion.
Do not put the client's health records into a public tool. Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules rule 9 and Australian Privacy Principle 11 apply, and a breach may be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).