Form · Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Affidavit (Federal Court Form 59): form rules, annexures and GPN-AI limits on AI in evidence

Link to the Federal Court's Form 59 with a guide to the form rules in r 29.02 (first person, numbered paragraphs, annexures, pagination, signatures) and the GPN-AI rules on AI in affidavits.

Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
Where it applies: Australia, Commonwealth
AI use: Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
Law stated as at: 18 October 2026
Status: Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the official form at fedcourt.gov.au and the 3 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
Version: 1
Source: Link to the official form. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Court of Australia). Link only: download the current approved form from the Court each time; do not copy or adapt it.

Where this comes from

The official form is published by fedcourt.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-18.

When to use it

Use whenever evidence is given by affidavit in a Federal Court proceeding, including an affidavit accompanying an originating application under r 8.05.

Used for these tasks

Draft an affidavit or witness statement from the proof

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

Lawyer-led. An affidavit must reflect the deponent's own recollection and knowledge; AI may check form and annexures but must not draft, outline or rephrase any of the evidence.

AI may

Check the affidavit against r 29.02 (first visible page, numbered paragraphs, pagination, signatures) and list defects
Index annexures and exhibits and check each is referred to and marked
Find dates and document references in the deponent's own documents when the lawyer asks, with a source for each

AI must not

Must not draft, outline, scaffold or rephrase any paragraph of evidence
Must not summarise or analyse information the witness relies on, unless that use is disclosed as GPN-AI para 4.10 requires
Must not process material subject to a non-publication order, or produced under compulsion, in a tool the law does not allow

The lawyer checks

Made in the first person, in the deponent's own words, from their own knowledge
First visible page states the deponent's description and the date sworn
Accompanying documents annexed (or exhibited if original or too large); every page consecutively numbered from 1
Each page (not annexures) signed by the deponent and the person before whom it is sworn
Any GPN-AI disclosure made at the start of the document

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

Official form

Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Court of Australia). Link only: download the current approved form from the Court each time; do not copy or adapt it..

Read the full text

The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:

read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.

The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.

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