Product and intended use
Define the configuration, people, information and tasks being assessed.
Product, operator and what sits outside it
Public claim only
The Terms of Use state that 'amica™ is an initiative of National Legal Aid and the Legal Services Commission of South Australia with support from the Australian Government', that 'The Legal Services Commission of South Australia is the entity responsible for delivering amica™ and its associated services on behalf of National Legal Aid', and that in the Terms 'amica', 'we', 'us' and 'our' refer to the Legal Services Commission of South Australia. The associated services are defined as the website, the interactive online platform called the Tool, and technical support for technical difficulties. A separate entry point, 'amica one', is published at one.amica.gov.au and described on the pricing page as a way to see what using amica is like without involving the former partner; it is not covered by anything read here and needs separate review.
Ask: Is amica one covered by the same Terms of Use and Privacy Statement as the main Tool, and which body is accountable for the artificial-intelligence component — National Legal Aid or the Legal Services Commission of South Australia?
What the product does
Public claim only
The money-and-property page, checked 2026-09-27, describes entering relationship, family and financial information with prompts for real estate, superannuation, vehicles, savings, debts and financial and non-financial contributions; progress tracking; in-built messaging between the two parties; document upload to verify information; a suggested percentage division of money and property; a written agreement the parties can download; and, optionally, transfer of the entered information into court application documents for consent orders, including the different forms used in Western Australia. The page states 'amica uses artificial intelligence to calculate how to divide your money and property fairly. It takes into account your circumstances, similar circumstances and what the court would consider in situations like yours.' The Terms of Use describe amica as 'an online dispute resolution tool designed to help separating couples to agree on on financial and parenting arrangements' and state that it 'suggests a division of money and property based on the information that each person enters, and agrees to, on the Tool'. Parenting is handled through a guided step-by-step platform; nothing read states that the artificial-intelligence calculation extends to parenting arrangements.
Ask: Does the artificial-intelligence calculation apply only to the money and property division, and what method sits behind it — a statistical model, a rules engine, a machine-learning model, or a combination?
Deployment model and hosting
Public claim only
Browser-delivered service only. The Tool is at app.amica.gov.au and the pricing page states 'amica is a completely online service, designed for both desktop and mobile'. The Privacy Statement, which the Terms of Use say forms part of them, states 'amica™ stores information in data centres within Australia, managed by Amazon Web Services.' No region identifier, availability zone or separate processing location is published, and nothing read states where the artificial-intelligence calculation itself is performed.
Ask: Which Amazon Web Services region holds the data, and is every component, including the calculation that produces the suggested division, executed within Australia?
Jurisdiction and legal content
Public claim only
The Terms of Use state amica and its associated services do not constitute legal advice, legal representation, 'the process of Family Dispute Resolution for the purposes of the Family Law Act (1975)(Cth)', a decision of any court or tribunal, or a legally binding outcome, and that no client-solicitor relationship is created. Use is limited to persons within Australia: 'amica™ and the associated services are only for use by persons within Australia.' The pricing page states amica can be used by married and de facto couples in any state or territory, including couples in a registered relationship, and that the money and property agreement 'is not the same as a binding financial agreement (BFA) and is not legally binding'. The suggested division is described as taking into account 'what the court would consider in situations like yours'. No legislation, case-law source, dataset, model documentation or currency date is named on any page read.
Ask: What body of Australian family-law authority and what data informs 'what the court would consider', how current is it, and how is the calculation reviewed after changes to the Family Law Act?
Check for operator content directing how AI describes the product
Not confirmed
The check was made deliberately and nothing of the kind was found. A site URL map of amica.gov.au taken on 2026-09-27 returned 48 URLs and listed no /llms.txt, /ai-info, /ai or /for-ai path, and none of the four pages read — the money-and-property page, the Terms of Use, the Privacy Statement and the pricing page — carries a heading or block addressed to AI models, assistants, crawlers or LLMs. A direct request for amica.gov.au/llms.txt or /robots.txt was not made within this profile's operations budget, so their absence from the map is the extent of the evidence. No comparative or superlative question about amica is answered in any published question-and-answer block read; the pricing page's 'Common questions about costs' block covers document delivery, payment and how amica works.
Ask: Do you publish an llms.txt, an AI-instructions page, or any text addressed to AI models or assistants on amica.gov.au or its subdomains?
Data, controls and requirements
Compare the actual configuration with firm, client and jurisdiction requirements, supported by evidence.
Who may use it, and on whose authority
Public claim only
The Terms of Use contract with the individual separating person, who must register an account to use the Tool and warrants that the information provided is complete, current, accurate and not misleading. Participants must act in good faith and acknowledge they are using the Tool 'of your own free will, free from duress or coercion'. Each party agrees to give the other 'full and frank disclosure' of their direct and indirect financial circumstances, agrees that information exchanged is on a 'without prejudice' basis and agrees not to disclose the other's information in court proceedings, on social media, or to children of the relationship except as necessary to give effect to an agreement. Before using amica, users are directed to an eight-question suitability questionnaire and told to seek independent advice if unsure. Nothing read addresses a legal practitioner operating the Tool on a client's behalf.
Ask: May a legal practitioner or a legal-assistance service operate amica on a client's behalf, and if so, who holds the account and who gives the good-faith and disclosure undertakings?
Which models or methods power the product
Not confirmed
The money-and-property page states that 'amica uses artificial intelligence to calculate how to divide your money and property fairly', and no page read names a model, model family, provider, algorithm, statistical method or training dataset. Neither the Terms of Use nor the Privacy Statement mentions artificial intelligence, machine learning or automated decision-making at all. The only technology providers named anywhere read are Amazon Web Services, for the Australian data centres, and ANZ Cybersource, for card processing.
Ask: What is the artificial-intelligence component, who built and maintains it, and is any third party model or service called when the suggested division is produced?
Subprocessors and third parties in the chain
Public claim only
No subprocessor list or register is published. The Privacy Statement, which the Terms of Use incorporate, names Amazon Web Services as managing the Australian data centres in which information is stored. The pricing page names ANZ Cybersource as processing card details. The Terms of Use state that in them 'a reference to us includes our employees, officers, agents and contractors from time to time', and that people who use amica 'may be contacted by organisations authorised by the Legal Services Commission of SA to discuss their user-experience' — those organisations are not named. Portable is credited in the site footer as the partner amica was developed 'in partnership with'; its current role, if any, in operating or processing is not stated on any page read.
Ask: Provide the current list of contractors and service providers with access to amica data, including the development partner's ongoing role and any organisations authorised to contact users for research.
Use of entered content to train or improve the model
Not confirmed
Nothing read states whether the financial information, uploaded documents, messages between the parties or accepted divisions are used to train, tune or evaluate the artificial-intelligence component. The Privacy Statement permits broad secondary use of both personally identifiable and non-personally-identifiable information: 'to improve the quality and design of amica™ and the associated services' and 'to create new features, functionality, and services by storing, tracking, and analysing user preferences and trends'. Those clauses are about product improvement and analytics and are not a statement about model training either way. The Terms of Use grant the operator 'a royalty free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and licence to use your content for the purpose of facilitating your access to and use of amica™ and the associated services', a purpose limit that does not on its face extend to model training.
Ask: Are entered financial details, uploaded documents, messages or accepted divisions used to train or re-train the artificial-intelligence component, and if so is that done on identified or de-identified data?
Research contact and feedback
Public claim only
The Terms of Use contain a Market Research clause: 'People who use amica™ may be contacted by organisations authorised by the Legal Services Commission of SA to discuss their user-experience. If you use amica™ you give us your consent to being contacted for this purpose via the email address or mobile number with which you registered your account.' A separate clause records consent to being contacted 'in relation to the outcome suggested by amica™ in your situation', for technical assistance including account cancellation or password changes, and 'any other reason we consider is reasonably necessary'. The Terms also permit collection and use of technical data about the user's device, system and application software. No opt-out mechanism for research contact is published in either document.
Ask: Can a user decline research contact while continuing to use the Tool, and which organisations are authorised to make that contact?
Retention of entered content
Not confirmed
No retention period is published for any category of data. The Privacy Statement, last modified 20 January 2022, sets out what is collected and logged and states that information is stored in Australian data centres managed by Amazon Web Services, but publishes no retention or destruction schedule for account details, entered financial or parenting information, uploaded documents, messages between the parties, the suggested division or the generated documents. The Terms of Use are silent on retention, including after a matter is abandoned or after the operator terminates or suspends access.
Ask: For how long is each category of amica data kept — account details, entered financial information, uploaded documents, messages and generated documents — and what happens to them if a couple abandons the process?
Deletion on request
Not confirmed
No deletion process, timeframe or self-service deletion facility is published. The Terms of Use mention account cancellation only in passing, as one of the reasons the operator may contact a user: 'providing technical assistance, including account cancellation or password changes'. The Privacy Statement's 'Your Choices' section says a user 'may, of course, decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Tool or the Webchat, in which case amica™ may not be able to provide certain services to you', and that files and information uploaded 'remain subject to our Terms of Use'; it sets out no right of erasure and no contact route for deletion beyond the general enquiries address amica@lsc.sa.gov.au.
Ask: How does a user have their account and all entered content deleted, within what period does that happen, and does it extend to backups and to the other party's copy of shared material?
Operator access to entered content
Not confirmed
Neither document read states whether staff or contractors of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia can view the financial information, uploaded documents or messages a couple enters, or whether such access is logged. The Privacy Statement's disclosure section addresses release to third parties, not internal access: it permits release 'if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state and federal laws ... or respond to a court order, subpoena, or search warrant', and reserves a right to disclose where the operator believes in good faith it is appropriate or necessary to enforce the Terms of Use, take precautions against liability, investigate or defend third-party claims, assist government enforcement agencies, or protect the security or integrity of the site or the rights, property or personal safety of the operator, its users or others.
Ask: Which roles inside the operator can read a couple's entered information and messages, in what circumstances, and is that access logged and auditable?
Authentication and account controls
Public claim only
The Terms of Use require account registration to use the Tool but not to browse the website. Authentication is by password: 'Your password is your key to accessing the Tool and your account. You must keep your password confidential and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur through use of your password including any unauthorised use of your account.' Users are advised to log out each time and to notify amica@lsc.sa.gov.au immediately if they suspect unauthorised use, and a 'Change Password' option is provided. No multi-factor authentication, session timeout, device control or lock-out policy is described in either document, which matters for a tool used by two parties to the same separation. The website carries a 'Quick exit' control and crisis line numbers on every page read.
Ask: Is multi-factor authentication available, and what controls prevent a former partner who knows or guesses a password from reading the other party's entries and uploaded documents?
Encryption in transit and at rest
Not confirmed
Neither document read states that data is encrypted, in transit or at rest, and no cipher, protocol or key-management arrangement is named. The Terms of Use say only: 'Where appropriate, we use available technology to protect the security of communications made through amica™. However, we do not accept liability for the security, authenticity, integrity or confidentiality of any transactions and other communications made through amica™', and add that internet communications may be susceptible to interference or interception and that no warranty is given that amica is free of viruses or unauthorised software. The Privacy Statement describes cookies, web beacons and logging but no security controls.
Ask: Is entered data encrypted in transit and at rest, under what standard, and who holds the keys?
Certifications and independent assurance
Not confirmed
No certification, attestation, audit, penetration test, IRAP assessment or privacy impact assessment is published on any page read, and the site URL map taken on 2026-09-27 lists no security, assurance or trust page — the 48 URLs are the home page, how-it-works, suitability, information, common questions, help and support, blog, media enquiries, search, the Terms of Use and the Privacy Statement. The Terms of Use contain a Security clause that disclaims liability rather than asserting a standard.
Ask: Has amica been subject to an IRAP assessment, a privacy impact assessment or an independent security audit, and can the assessment or its summary be provided?
Contract form, liability and governing law
Public claim only
Access is on click-through Terms of Use: 'In using this website, or amica™ or any part of amica™'s associated services (described below) you are consenting to be bound by these Terms of Use.' They are governed by the laws of South Australia and 'Any claim relating to use of amica™ shall be heard by the courts of South Australia'. Information is provided on an 'AS IS' basis without warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose or non-infringement, and with no representation about timeliness, accuracy, completeness or reliability; liability for a non-excludable warranty is limited, at the operator's election, to resupply of services or a refund. The operator excludes liability for direct, special, indirect or consequential loss arising from use or unavailability, and the user indemnifies the operator for breach of the Terms, violation of third-party rights, or any claim that the user's use caused damage to a third party. The operator may terminate or suspend registration and access 'at any time with or without notice and for any reason'. No page read publishes a version number or effective date for the Terms of Use.
Ask: What is the effective date and version of the current Terms of Use, and is any separate agreement available for a legal-assistance service or practitioner using amica with clients?
Cross-border transfer of data
Public claim only
The Privacy Statement states 'amica™ stores information in data centres within Australia, managed by Amazon Web Services', and contains no overseas-disclosure clause. The Terms of Use restrict use to persons within Australia and state that a user accessing amica from outside Australia does so on their own initiative and is responsible for compliance with local laws. Neither document states whether any processing — including the artificial-intelligence calculation, support tooling, analytics or backups — occurs outside Australia, so the published statement covers storage rather than the whole processing chain.
Ask: Beyond storage, does any processing, support access, analytics or backup of amica data occur outside Australia at any point?
Security incident notification
Not confirmed
No breach-notification commitment appears in either document read, and neither mentions the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The only notification duty published runs the other way: the Terms of Use require the user to notify amica@lsc.sa.gov.au immediately if they suspect unauthorised use of their password. The Terms then disclaim liability for 'any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from any breach of a security measure (including viruses, Trojans or other unauthorised software)'. The Privacy Statement provides a general enquiries address for questions about 'the security of amica™' but no incident process.
Ask: If amica suffered a data breach affecting a couple's financial information or uploaded documents, who would be notified, within what period, and under which agency's incident process?
Change, notice and version control
Public claim only
The Terms of Use reserve a unilateral right of change: 'We may revise these Terms of Use at any time by updating this page. You should visit this page from time to time and review the then current Terms of Use because they are binding on you. We may modify or discontinue any information or features that form part of amica™ at any time, with or without notice to you, and without liability.' A separate clause reserves the right 'at any time to modify, discontinue temporarily or permanently features of amica™ or associated services with or without notice'. The Privacy Statement says it 'may be revised periodically and this will be reflected by the ‘effective date’ below', that continued use constitutes agreement to any future revisions, and records that it 'was last modified 20 January 2022'. The Terms of Use carry no date at all, and no changelog was found. Nothing published commits the operator to notifying users of a change to the artificial-intelligence calculation.
Ask: Will you publish an effective date and change history for the Terms of Use, and how are users told when the method behind the suggested division changes?
Exit, export and continuity
Not confirmed
The money-and-property page states that once the process is finished a copy of the written agreement can be downloaded to refer to later, and the pricing page states documents 'will be available to view and download straight away' once payment is accepted, with a receipt emailed and viewable in the account. Nothing read describes any export of the underlying entered information, the messages between the parties or the uploaded documents, or what becomes of them if the operator terminates access, discontinues features or discontinues amica, which the Terms of Use permit at any time with or without notice. The Terms also state 'We do not guarantee continuous accessibility or uninterrupted operation of amica™.'
Ask: Can a user export everything they and their former partner entered, including uploaded documents and messages, and what notice would be given if amica were discontinued?
Integrations and what they expose
Not confirmed
No integration with a practice-management system, document-management system, court e-filing channel or government dataset is published on any page read, and the site URL map lists none. The pricing page states the opposite for the courts: consent-order documents are prepared for the user to file, and 'amica does not file these documents with the Courts on your behalf'. The only external service named in a processing role is ANZ Cybersource, for card payments. Whether the Tool verifies any entered figure against an external source, such as a superannuation or property-valuation service, is not stated anywhere read.
Ask: Does amica call any external data source to check or value an asset, and is there any interface for a legal-assistance service to receive or review a matter?
Retrieval from outside the tool
Not confirmed
Nothing read states whether amica retrieves anything from the live internet when it produces the suggested division or the documents. The money-and-property page describes the input as the information each person enters plus 'similar circumstances and what the court would consider in situations like yours', and the Terms of Use describe the suggestion as 'based on the information that each person enters, and agrees to, on the Tool'. Neither names an external corpus, a case-law database or a live lookup.
Ask: When the suggested division is produced, is anything retrieved from outside the Tool, and if 'similar circumstances' means a reference dataset, what is it and how was it assembled?
Autonomy and what happens without a person
Public claim only
The published design keeps each step with the parties. The Terms of Use state amica 'suggests a division of money and property based on the information that each person enters, and agrees to, on the Tool' and that it 'cannot guarantee that you will achieve an agreed outcome as this may be affected by many factors which are outside of amica™'s control'. The money-and-property page states the user can accept the suggestion or use it as a starting point, that the suggestion is sent to the former partner to ask if they agree, that 'you both get a say at each step in the process', and that applying to the court is optional. Documents are produced only when the user proceeds and pays, and amica does not file them with the court. Nothing in the Tool is described as acting on a party's behalf or binding them: the Terms state amica is not a decision of any court or tribunal and not a legally binding outcome.
Ask: Is there any step at which the Tool records agreement or progresses a matter without both parties positively confirming it, and how is a disputed or coerced acceptance handled?
Human review, advice and verification
Public claim only
The Terms of Use are explicit that no lawyer is involved: 'amica™ is a neutral tool designed to facilitate a method by which separating couples can reach agreement; it does not provide legal advice to either party or to you as a couple', amica and its associated services 'provide general legal information, are not legal advice and are not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a properly qualified legal practitioner', and 'No client-solicitor relationship is created between you and amica™.' Users are told to assess whether amica suits their situation before using it, are pointed to an eight-question suitability questionnaire, and are told to 'seek independent advice before using it' if unsure. The site publishes a 'not suitable' page and family-violence help pages, and every page read carries a 'Quick exit' control and crisis line numbers. The pricing page states the money and property agreement 'is not the same as a binding financial agreement (BFA) and is not legally binding'. No page read states that a lawyer, registrar or reviewer checks the suggested division before it is presented.
Ask: Is the suggested division reviewed by any person before it is shown to the parties, and what screening stops the Tool being used where there is family violence or a power imbalance?
