---
title: "Authority for a treating practitioner to release clinical records"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/authority-treating-practitioner-records"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a21-authority-treating-practitioner-records"
area_id: "A21"
kind: "form"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A21-T1-R2", "A21-P20260916-1", "A21-B6-2"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-23"
---

# Authority for a treating practitioner to release clinical records

> Signed authority for one treating practitioner to release named clinical records for a named period, with a separate tick for counselling or mental-health records and a short covering letter.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/authority-treating-practitioner-records  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-23

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

Signed authority for one treating practitioner to release named clinical records for a named period, with a separate tick for counselling or mental-health records and a short covering letter. It is not a statutory declaration.

## Key facts

- Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Practice area: [Personal Injury & Compensation](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation.md)
- Jurisdictions: Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-23
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-23 against the 5 authorities it cites, for Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.

## When to use it

Use for a general practitioner, specialist or allied-health practitioner the client has named. Use one authority for each practitioner. If the practitioner requires their own form, use that form and keep this authority on the file as the client's instructions. Do not use it for a hospital's full record.

## Used for these tasks

- [Build a medical chronology from the record set](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/build-a-medical-chronology-from-the-record-set.md)
- [Find gaps and duplicates in a medical-record set](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/find-gaps-and-duplicates-in-a-medical-record-set.md)
- [Build a PI medical chronology with AI](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/build-a-pi-medical-chronology-with-ai.md)

## How AI may be used

The tool may fill the practitioner, the period and the ticked record types from the intake, and the lawyer checks the consent before the letter is sent.

**AI may:**

- Fill one authority for each practitioner named in the intake
- Leave the mental-health tick blank unless the client has agreed to that request
- Prepare the covering letter with the secure address the firm uses for health records

**AI must not:**

- Must not request counselling or mental-health records unless that box is ticked by the client
- Must not widen the period beyond the dates the client has agreed
- Must not put the records into a public or unapproved tool

**The lawyer checks:**

- The client knows which practitioner will be asked, for which years, and whether mental-health records are included
- The request matches the claim. Pre-injury records are included only for the period the lawyer has explained
- In New South Wales, the IPC fact sheet (May 2026) says access should be without unreasonable delay or expense, and private providers should also be checked against HRIP Act ss 26 to 32. Health information stays in the approved system (APP 11; ASCR r 9)

## Authorities

- [OAIC, APP guidelines Chapter 6, paras 6.16 and 6.17 (consent must be informed, voluntary, current and specific, and given with capacity)](https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-6-app-6-use-or-disclosure-of-personal-information)
- [OAIC, APP guidelines Chapter 11, APP 11.1 (reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access)](https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-11-app-11-security-of-personal-information)
- [OAIC, About the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme (notify affected individuals and the OAIC when a data breach is likely to result in serious harm)](https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches/about-the-notifiable-data-breaches-scheme)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015 r 9.1 and r 9.2.1](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2015-0244#sec.9)
- [Information and Privacy Commission NSW, Fact sheet, Health Privacy Principles (updated May 2026): an organisation that holds health information must allow the person to access it without unreasonable delay or expense; private sector organisations are also pointed to HRIP Act ss 26 to 32](https://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/resources/fact-sheet-health-privacy-principles-hpps)

## 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/personal-injury-and-compensation/authority-treating-practitioner-records 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.*