Screen whether a Queensland client can give instructions on this decision
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the file note the lawyer selects, list indicators that bear on whether the person can give instructions for this decision. Do not decide capacity.
- What the lawyer must review
- Capacity is presumed, and it is decision-specific
- A medical assessment needs the client's consent and instructions
- The tool lists indicators and does not decide capacity
- Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Check ASCR r 9, APP 11 and Privacy Act notification
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland plaintiff personal injury intake, before instructions are taken as competent
Produce. A list of indicators, tied to this decision, for the lawyer to consider. No capacity finding.
Have ready. The file note the lawyer selects; The decision for which instructions are sought.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The note records confusion about the accident date. The draft lists that as an indicator for this decision. The lawyer decides whether instructions can be taken, and the draft does not say the person lacks capacity.
Stop and hand it back when
- The lawyer is being asked to decide capacity.
- A medical assessment is proposed and the client has not consented.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the file note the lawyer selects, list indicators that bear on whether the person can give instructions for this decision. Do not decide capacity. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- The Queensland capacity page says rule 8 requires the solicitor to follow a client's lawful, proper and competent instructions, and that a person is presumed to have capacity.
- The same page says capacity can be decision-specific and time-specific, can fluctuate, and can change with support. The list is about this decision.
- The client's consent and instructions are required before a medical assessment. The tool does not request one and does not treat a medical note as a decision.
- The page cites the Capacity Assessment Guidelines 2020 and says the Queensland Handbook for Practitioners on Legal Capacity is being updated. The tool does not apply a test from a handbook that was not opened.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity and instructions checklist | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Checklist for whether the injured person can instruct on the decision in front of them today. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Queensland Law Society: Doubts about a client's capacity · 2026-10-23
- Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) section 5 · 2026-10-23
This screen does not appoint a litigation guardian. If a proceeding is in view, that question is a separate task under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules.
Section 5 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 describes disability for limitation while a person is an infant or of unsound mind. It is not the test for whether the person can give these instructions.
Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Apply ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and consider whether a breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).