On 29 May 2026, Chief Justice Alstergren issued a Practice Direction governing how artificial intelligence, and in particular generative AI, may be utilised in family law proceedings before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (the Court). The Practice Direction applies to everyone who appears before or assists the Court, namely, lawyers, litigants, experts, and others, taking effect immediately.
Scope of the Practice Direction:
The Practice Direction does not just cover dedicated AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini. It reaches AI embedded in everyday software including drafting assistants, search functions, transcription services, and document management systems. If a tool utilises AI in any form, the Practice Direction applies to how AI can be used in a matter before the Court.
The Six Principles:
The Practice Direction establishes six principles that all court users must observe:
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Accuracy
- confidentiality and data security
- safety
- education and understanding.
These principles stand alongside existing professional duties and do not seek to replace them. These include duties to the Court, to act honestly and competently, and to ensure the safety of families and children.
Verification of AI-generated Content:
Before relying upon any AI-generated content in a proceeding, practitioners must independently verify it. The Court warns that generative AI can produce outputs that are believable but inaccurate or misleading, and that a tool cannot be assumed to be dependable simply because it is paid or commercially licensed. Every citation, case reference and statutory extract must be verified against AustLII or the Federal Register of Legislation. There should be no reliance on AI tools to verify their own outputs.
Confidentiality:
Regarding confidentiality, the Practice Direction carries its most profound consequences. Under Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), it is an indictable offence to communicate to the public any account of proceedings that identifies a party, witness, child, or associated person. Entering/publishing identifying information into a publicly available AI tool is not just a confidentiality concern, it carries potential criminal consequences.
Practitioners must be mindful, before any client or matter information is entered into a tool, whether it is a closed private platform or publicly accessible tool. Certain categories of material such as suppressed documents, material produced on subpoena, and court-ordered disclosures must not be entered into any AI tool unless strict conditions are met, namely that the tool operates in a closed environment, does not utilise the uploaded material for training, and is used only in connection with the relevant proceeding.
Be Ready to Answer Four Questions.
Apart from experts who are required to, there is no general obligation to disclose AI usage. However, every person (including the lawyer (s)) who is responsible for a document must be able to answer the Court if asked:
- Whether AI was used in the document’s creation?
- What type of AI tool was employed?
- How was the output verified and supervised?
- How were the Practice Direction principles observed?
This requires record keeping of AI-assisted work in such a way that allows for the answering of these questions.
Other key obligations:
Affidavit and witness evidence must remain in the own words of the witness, and practitioners should exercise caution when using AI anywhere near evidentiary material. Experts must be provided with a copy of the Practice Direction and must confirm they have read it. AI must not be used to perpetrate family violence or litigation abuse, including through the generation or alteration of material in contested matters.
Keep up to Date:
The Court has indicated it will review the Practice Direction regularly, and that a lack of understanding will not excuse a breach. Practitioners should read the Practice Direction: Use of Artificial Intelligence directly and ensure their use of AI tools is consistent with its requirements.
Nicholes Family Lawyers closely monitors developments in family law practice and procedure to ensure our clients receive accurate, up-to-date advice. To reach out, please contact our office at reception@nicholeslaw.com.au or by telephone at (03) 9670 4122.