Form · Personal Injury & Compensation

Authority for a lawyer to act for a person in custody

A short authority the person in custody can sign so the firm may arrange contact with the prison and receive non-medical information about where they are. It is not a medical release.

Kind
Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
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 4 authorities it cites, for Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Version
1
Source
Written for this library

When to use it

Use when the person in custody can sign, so the firm can tell the centre it acts and can arrange the conference. Do not use it to obtain medical records, and do not use it as the centre's visit form.

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 insert the firm and the centre, and it must not add a medical release, a statutory declaration, or a statement of the offence.

AI may

  • Name the firm and the centre the lawyer has confirmed
  • Limit the authority to arranging contact and confirming where the person is held
  • Leave the signature for the person, witnessed in the way the lawyer arranges at the conference

AI must not

  • Must not authorise release of medical, psychological or substance-treatment records
  • Must not include a statutory declaration
  • Must not state the charge or the facts of the injury claim
  • Must not say the centre must accept this paper as its visit approval

The lawyer checks

  • The person understood the one-page authority. An interpreter is used if the interview checklist says one is needed
  • Capacity to sign this authority is considered on the capacity checklist if there is a reason to ask
  • The original or a copy is kept in the firm's system. It is not published
  • A separate health authority is used if medical records are needed later
  • The centre's own form is still lodged. This page does not replace it

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

Authorities

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