Letter · Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice
End-of-service (file closing) letter in plain language
Original plain-language letter telling a client that a community legal centre or legal aid service has finished helping, what was done, what is still to happen and who is responsible, deadlines, documents returned, and where to get more help.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- Australia
- AI use
- Green AI can do most of the drafting. A lawyer still reviews the result.
- 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 whenever you close a file after advice, limited-scope help or casework, including when the client has stopped responding. Do not send it to an address that is not confirmed as safe, and do not use it to end a retainer mid-matter without considering the client's position.
How AI may be used
AI may draft the letter from the file and the closing note in plain language, for the lawyer to check. Deadlines and outstanding steps must be confirmed against the file by the lawyer.
AI may
- Draft the summary of what was done from the file notes and closing record
- List documents to be returned from the file's document register
- Simplify the language and check reading level
AI must not
- Must not state any deadline or outstanding step that the lawyer has not confirmed from the file
- Must not include sensitive details the client may not want written down
- Must not be sent automatically without a lawyer approving it
The lawyer checks
- Outstanding deadlines are correct and the client is told who is responsible
- Original documents are returned and the file retention period is correct
- The address is safe to write to
- Referral details are current
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 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 Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice
- Application for legal aid (Legal Aid NSW): guide to helping a client apply
- Limited-scope (unbundled) retainer letter in plain language
- Community legal centre intake, safety and conflict-check form
- Sign-off checklist for AI-assisted self-help factsheets and kits
- Client notice and choice: AI-assisted notes, summaries and translation (plain language)
All precedents for Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice · Tasks and AI use in this area