Policy · Knowledge Management
Retention schedule for AI-indexed know-how and prompt history
Schedule for how long the firm keeps copies of documents, notes and prompts inside an AI index, and for removing them when the file, a wall, or APP 11 says the copy should not remain.
- Kind
- Policy. A policy or procedure for a firm or client.
- Where it applies
- Australia
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the 5 authorities it cites, for Australia.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Adopt when a retrieval tool, a prompt log or a know-how bot holds firm or client information. Use it at matter close and when a wall is imposed. It does not shorten an AML/CTF or client-file period. The index copy is kept only while the source record is kept, and access stays no wider than the source.
Used for these tasks
- Apply file retention rules to AI-indexed content
- Preserve prompts and outputs for records and discovery
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
A tool may list index items whose source file is closed or whose wall record excludes the current audience, and a person approves removal before anything is deleted.
AI may
- List index items whose source matter is marked closed in the practice system.
- List items tied to a matter that has an information-barrier record.
- List prompt logs older than the period in this schedule.
AI must not
- Must not delete an item.
- Must not keep a copy in a "quarantine" index that people can still query.
- Must not apply the AML/CTF period to ordinary know-how, or the know-how period to AML/CTF records.
The lawyer checks
- The class of each item is right before a period is applied.
- A person has checked that no longer duty, wall, or hold applies.
- After removal, a test query no longer returns the item.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is available after you log in. It is free. When you log 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 Knowledge Management
- Privacy due diligence before an AI knowledge vendor is chosen
- Legislation and citation currency audit worksheet
- Precedent review and approval procedure (including AI-drafted and AI-updated precedents)
- Policy on putting client documents into an AI knowledge tool
- Precedent metadata and version-control standard (for people and AI retrieval)
- Privilege and confidentiality clearance before know-how ingestion
- Information barrier record for an AI knowledge tool
- Minimisation worksheet before a document joins the precedent bank
- AI prompt library governance policy (prompt templates linked to precedents and tasks)
- Knowledge-base content licensing and copyright checklist (before AI ingestion)
- Judgment know-how note
- Training outline: checking an AI output before it is kept or used
- Matter close-out know-how capture form with confidentiality scrub
- AI knowledge assistant governance and source-citation policy (permission-aware search, information barriers, citations)
All precedents for Knowledge Management · Tasks and AI use in this area