---
title: "Metadata comparison schedule for a digital file"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/metadata-comparison-schedule"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a44-metadata-comparison-schedule"
area_id: "A44"
kind: "form"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A44-A20260923-1", "A44-T1-R1"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Metadata comparison schedule for a digital file

> Schedule comparing what a party claims about a digital file with the properties of the file actually held: names, times, hashes, device fields and software marks, for a lawyer to read before any authenticity step.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/metadata-comparison-schedule  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

- Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- 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: 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 6 jurisdictions.

## When to use it

Use when a produced file, a screenshot or a recording does not match the account of how it was made or kept. It is an internal comparison. It is not a finding that the file is synthetic, and it is not a letter to the other party.

## Used for these tasks

- [Compare claimed source metadata with the file actually produced](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/compare-claimed-source-metadata-with-the-file-actually-produced.md)
- [Build an authenticity checklist for a key digital exhibit](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/build-an-authenticity-checklist-for-a-key-digital-exhibit.md)

## How AI may be used

An approved tool may copy file properties and hashes into the schedule columns, and the lawyer decides what any mismatch means and whether a request under s 167 is warranted.

**AI may:**

- Copy filename, extension, file size, created and modified times, and a hash from an approved export into the schedule.
- Place the other side's description of the file, taken from a letter or a list of documents, in the claimed column beside the matching property.
- List properties that are blank in the export.

**AI must not:**

- Must not describe a mismatch as proof that the file is forged, deepfaked or unreliable.
- Must not run the file through a public generative AI tool to test whether it is synthetic.
- Must not fill the lawyer's conclusion column.

**The lawyer checks:**

- Each property was taken from the file in the firm's custody, and the hash method is named.
- The claimed column quotes the other side's document, not a paraphrase that improves it.
- The conclusion says only what the lawyer is prepared to put in advice, and whether a s 167 request or an expert is the next step.

## Authorities

- [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)
- [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 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), Compilation No. 35, compilation date 10 June 2025, Federal Register of Legislation](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04858/latest)
- [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/metadata-comparison-schedule 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.*