Review a Victorian release before the client signs
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the draft release, extract any confidentiality clause, any apology, the people and bodies released, and the amount. Do not rewrite the deed and do not advise the client to sign.
- What the lawyer must review
- The client signs this deed. Check every release, confidentiality clause and apology.
- Do not treat a deed signed now as inside either window in s 27OA.
- Do not promise that this deed can be set aside under that Division.
- Keep the file in the firm's system. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply.
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 settlement deed the client is asked to sign. The principles apply, if at all, when the defendant is the State.
Produce. A marked clause list from the draft release, for the lawyer's advice before the client signs.
Have ready. The draft deed; The defendants actually sued; Whether the defendant is the State.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The draft releases a school that has not been sued and contains a confidentiality clause. The defendant is a department. The tool marks both clauses and notes the principles' published position. The lawyer advises the client. The tool does not say the deed can later be set aside.
Stop and hand it back when
- The tool advises the client to sign.
- The tool says a deed signed now falls inside s 27OA.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the draft release, extract any confidentiality clause, any apology, the people and bodies released, and the amount. Do not rewrite the deed and do not advise the client to sign. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- The set-aside windows in s 27OA are a settlement given effect before 1 July 2018, or a settlement given effect in the period from 13 November 2024 to the commencement of the 2026 vicarious-liability Act. A deed signed today is outside those words.
- Against the State, the Common Guiding Principles say departments should ordinarily not require a confidentiality clause in a child sexual abuse settlement, and should offer a written apology where they consider it appropriate.
- The principles are not binding and are stated for State institutions. They do not of themselves bind a private institution.
- Leave Medicare, Centrelink and NDIS clearances to the firm's existing compensation-recovery work.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Redress Scheme and a civil claim: comparison checklist | Checklist | AI use Yellow | A comparison, for a survivor and the lawyer, of a National Redress Scheme offer and a civil claim: components, the six-month decision, the release, a decline, and a Victorian set-aside limit. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) s 27OA · 2026-10-23
- Victorian Common Guiding Principles for child sexual abuse civil claims · 2026-10-23
- National Redress Scheme, redress payments · 2026-10-23
Do not tell the client the deed can later be reopened under the historical sections.
If this is used in a Supreme Court document, the Court's news page on Practice Note SC Gen 25 says court users are responsible for the content whether or not they used AI.