---
title: "Letter before judicial review proceedings to a Commonwealth decision-maker (ADJR Act), with time-limit and genuine steps record"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/administrative-and-public-law/letter-before-judicial-review-proceedings"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a31-letter-before-judicial-review-proceedings"
area_id: "A31"
kind: "letter"
ai_level: "red"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A31-T1-R1", "A31-T1-R2"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Letter before judicial review proceedings to a Commonwealth decision-maker (ADJR Act), with time-limit and genuine steps record

> Pre-action letter to a Commonwealth agency identifying the decision, the errors alleged and the remedy sought, asking it to withdraw or remake the decision and preserve the record, with the ADJR 28-day period and the…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/administrative-and-public-law/letter-before-judicial-review-proceedings  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

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

Pre-action letter to a Commonwealth agency identifying the decision, the errors alleged and the remedy sought, asking it to withdraw or remake the decision and preserve the record, with the ADJR 28-day period and the genuine steps statement in mind.

## Key facts

- Kind: Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Practice area: [Administrative & Public Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/administrative-and-public-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: Commonwealth, Australia
- AI level: Red. Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 4 authorities it cites, for Commonwealth and Australia.

## When to use it

Use when a client wants to challenge a Commonwealth administrative decision in the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 2) under the ADJR Act and there is time to write first. If the 28-day period is about to expire, file first and write afterwards. Check first whether merits review is available, because the court may decline relief where another avenue exists.

## Used for these tasks

- [Build a review-rights and time-limit table from the decision letter](https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law/build-a-review-rights-and-time-limit-table-from-the-decision-letter.md)
- [Draft a judicial-review grounds outline from the decision and the record](https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law/draft-a-judicial-review-grounds-outline-from-the-decision-and-the-record.md)

## How AI may be used

The lawyer writes the grounds and the demands; AI may build the chronology and the time-limit table from the decision letter and check names, dates and file references.

**AI may:**

- Build a dated chronology from the decision, the reasons and the correspondence, for the lawyer to check
- Calculate the candidate 28-day dates under s 11(3) from the dates the decision and any reasons were furnished, for the lawyer to confirm
- Check the decision-maker’s name, the statutory provision and the file references against the decision letter

**AI must not:**

- Must not identify or write the grounds of review, or characterise the decision as unlawful
- Must not decide whether the decision is one to which the ADJR Act applies, or whether merits review is the better course
- Must not send the letter or contact the agency

**The lawyer checks:**

- The decision is a decision of an administrative character made under an enactment, and is not excluded from the ADJR Act
- The 28-day period has been calculated from the right event (decision with reasons, separate reasons, or a s 13 request) and diarised, and filing will not wait for a reply if time is short
- Merits review options and any statutory bar have been considered, given s 10(2)(b)
- The letter records steps that can be described in a genuine steps statement, unless the proceedings are excluded

## Authorities

- [Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) s 11(1), (3) (application lodged within 28 days after the decision or reasons are furnished, or further time allowed)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01697/latest/text)
- [Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) ss 5, 13 (grounds of review; request for a statement of reasons)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01697/latest/text)
- [Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) s 10(2)(b) (court may refuse relief where other review is available), ss 15, 16 (stay; powers of the court)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01697/latest/text)
- [Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth) ss 6, 7 (genuine steps statements), ss 15, 16 (excluded proceedings)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2011A00017/latest/text)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/administrative-and-public-law/letter-before-judicial-review-proceedings and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

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