Checklist · Personal Injury & Compensation

Capacity and instructions checklist

Checklist for whether the injured person can instruct on the decision in front of them today. It records observations and the support tried, and it does not certify that the person lacks capacity.

Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
Where it applies: Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales
AI use: Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
Law stated as at: 23 October 2026
Status: Maintained. Checked on 23 October 2026 against the 3 authorities it cites, for Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Version: 1
Source: Written for this library

When to use it

Use when there is a reason to ask whether the client can give instructions on a particular decision. Do not use it as a medical certificate, a statutory declaration, or the application for a litigation guardian, tutor or sanction.

Used for these tasks

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

The tool may record what the lawyer saw and what support was offered, and it must not state that the client lacks capacity or choose a substitute decision-maker.

AI may

List the decision that is being asked about, and the observations the lawyer makes
Record support that was tried, such as a quiet room, a support person, or another day
Record the name of any attorney, guardian or administrator from a document the lawyer has seen

AI must not

Must not write that the client lacks capacity. That conclusion is the lawyer's, after the steps on this page
Must not treat age, disability, appearance or an unwise decision as enough to refuse instructions
Must not draft an affidavit, a medical report or a tribunal application
Must not apply the Queensland or New South Wales formulation as the Victorian test

The lawyer checks

The decision on this page is one decision. A different decision is checked again
Support was tried before any thought of a substitute. The New South Wales guide treats substitute decision-making as a last resort
In Queensland, the presumption and the decision-specific test on the government page are the starting point. The 2020 guidelines were not opened
In Victoria, the lawyer reads the current guardianship legislation and the LIV guidelines. Neither was opened for this checklist
Health information on this page stays in the firm's system. Conduct rule 9 and APP 11 apply. A loss likely to cause serious harm is assessed under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

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All precedents for Personal Injury & Compensation · Tasks and AI use in this area