---
title: "Letter asking that devices and native files be preserved"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/device-preservation-letter"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a44-device-preservation-letter"
area_id: "A44"
kind: "letter"
ai_level: "red"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A44-A20260923-3", "A44-A20260923-2"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Letter asking that devices and native files be preserved

> Letter asking a party or a non-party to keep devices, accounts and native files so that an authenticity question can still be investigated, without claiming that the letter is a court order.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/device-preservation-letter  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

- Kind: Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Practice area: [Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents.md)
- Jurisdictions: Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Tasmania
- AI level: Red. You write the text. The tool writes nothing into the document. Where permitted, it may check, clarify or collect data, and anything it checks or collects is verified.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 4 authorities it cites, for 6 jurisdictions.

## When to use it

Send when a message, image, audio or video matters and the original may sit on a phone, a laptop or an account that could be deleted or overwritten. Do not send it as a substitute for an application for an order, a subpoena, or a s 167 request once proceedings allow one.

## Used for these tasks

- [Build a chain-of-custody log from the capture papers](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/build-a-chain-of-custody-log-from-the-capture-papers.md)
- [Draft an authenticity challenge or expert-instruction letter](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/draft-an-authenticity-challenge-or-expert-instruction-letter.md)

## How AI may be used

The lawyer writes and sends the letter; a tool may only list device types and account names the lawyer has already taken from the instructions.

**AI may:**

- List device types and account names from facts the lawyer has already marked as able to be stated in open correspondence.
- Insert the proceeding number and the party names from the file.

**AI must not:**

- Must not draft the letter that will be sent.
- Must not add an allegation that the recipient has forged evidence or committed an offence.
- Must not assert that this letter has the force of a court order or of s 167 before a request under that section is made in the proceeding.

**The lawyer checks:**

- Every device and account named is one the lawyer is instructed exists, and naming it does not breach a suppression or confidentiality order.
- The letter does not set out the contents of privileged advice or the detail of intimate images.
- The client has approved the letter, and a copy is kept with the date and method of sending.

## Authorities

- [Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) s 167 (requests about authenticity, identity or admissibility of a document or thing)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s167.html)
- [Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) s 48 (proof of contents of documents, including copies and device-retrieved records)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s48.html)
- [Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) s 146 (evidence produced by processes, machines and other devices), Compilation No. 35, 10 June 2025](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ea199580/s146.html)
- [Federal Court of Australia, Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Practice Note (GPN-AI), 16 April 2026, paras 4.7 to 4.15](https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-documents/practice-notes/gpn-ai)

## 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/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/device-preservation-letter 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.*