---
title: "Worksheet comparing a draft bill with the costs disclosure"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/bill-disclosure-comparison"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a42-bill-disclosure-comparison"
area_id: "A42"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A42-A20260923-2", "A42-A20260923-1", "A42-B1-1", "A42-T1-R2"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Worksheet comparing a draft bill with the costs disclosure

> Internal worksheet that sets a draft bill beside the last costs estimate, later updates, uplift and AI-assisted time, before the bill is sent.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/bill-disclosure-comparison  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Costs, billing & litigation funding](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding.md)
- Jurisdictions: New South Wales
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 5 authorities it cites, for New South Wales.

## When to use it

Use before a bill is given, when the draft has been built from the time records. It does not replace a significant-change letter or a costs disclosure. It records whether one of those is now required.

## Used for these tasks

- [Compare a draft bill to the last costs disclosure and any updates](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/compare-a-draft-bill-to-the-last-costs-disclosure-and-any-updates.md)
- [Build a draft bill from the time records and the disclosure](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/build-a-draft-bill-from-the-time-records-and-the-disclosure.md)
- [Review a bill for AI-assisted work](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/review-a-bill-for-ai-assisted-work.md)
- [Compare a funding, uplift or common-fund agreement to the current rules](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/compare-a-funding-uplift-or-common-fund-agreement-to-the-current-rules.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may copy figures from the disclosure, the updates and the draft bill into the table. The principal decides whether the change is significant and whether the bill can go out.

**AI may:**

- Copy the estimate, each update and the draft bill total from the documents supplied
- List time entries the records mark as AI-assisted, without deciding if they are billable

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide that a change is or is not significant
- Must not calculate an uplift or treat a percentage of the outcome as a permitted fee
- Must not approve the bill

**The lawyer checks:**

- The running total is compared with the last figure the client was given, and a significant-change notice is sent if s 174(1)(b) requires it, before or with the bill
- Any uplift matches the conditional costs agreement and s 182, and no fee is a percentage of the outcome
- AI-assisted entries record work done by a person, and the principal has signed the worksheet

## Authorities

- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 174(1)(a) and (b) (estimate of total legal costs, and disclosure of a significant change)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s174.html)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 182 (uplift fee capped at 25% of legal costs excluding disbursements in a litigious matter, and the estimate the agreement must include)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s182.html)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 183 (contingency fees prohibited)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s183.html)
- [Statement on the use of artificial intelligence in Australian legal practice (Law Society of NSW, Legal Practice Board of WA and Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, 6 December 2024), on charging for work done by staff](https://www.lawsociety.com.au/sites/default/files/2024-12/LS4590_PSP_Statement_AI_LawSocietyVersion.pdf)
- [Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, news item dated 6 December 2024, publishing the joint statement on the use of artificial intelligence in Australian legal practice](https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/news-updates/news/statement-use-artificial-intelligence-australian-legal-practice)

## 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/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/bill-disclosure-comparison 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.*