Letter · Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents
Letter instructing a digital forensics expert on suspected synthetic or altered media
Instruction letter to a digital forensics expert to examine whether images, recordings, video or documents were generated or altered with AI, setting the questions, method, chain of custody, code of conduct and AI-disclosure requirements.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- Australia, New South Wales, Victoria
- AI use
- Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when authenticity of an important digital exhibit is genuinely in doubt and the matter justifies expert evidence. Adapt for single or joint experts and for the forum's expert rules.
How AI may be used
Lawyer-led. AI may index the materials and hashes for the expert and check that each question maps to an item in the authenticity table, but the lawyer frames the questions and assumptions and controls what the expert receives.
AI may
- Index the native files, export logs and hash values being sent to the expert.
- Check that every question in the letter relates to a numbered item in the authenticity table and list allegations with no supporting item.
- Prepare a chronology of custody from the capture papers for the lawyer to verify.
AI must not
- Must not draft or suggest the expert's opinions or conclusions.
- Must not frame questions in a way that assumes the answer.
- Must not transmit evidence files to the expert or any third party.
The lawyer checks
- The questions are neutral and the assumptions are stated.
- The expert has the correct code of conduct and the forum's AI requirements, and the required acknowledgment or certification is obtained.
- The materials sent are forensic copies with verified hashes and a custody record.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer.
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.
More in Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents
- Deepfake and synthetic evidence authenticity checklist (images, audio, video and documents)
- Letter requesting native files, metadata and device examination (Evidence Act s 167)
- Client warning letter on AI-fabricated or altered evidence
- Digital evidence intake and chain-of-custody record
- Outline of submissions objecting to evidence suspected to be AI-generated or altered
All precedents for Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents · Tasks and AI use in this area