Guidelines for Responsible Use by Non-Lawyers
These guidelines apply across Queensland’s courts and tribunals (including the Supreme, District, Magistrates, Land, Children’s, Industrial, Planning and Environment Courts, QIRC and QCAT).
They are intended for non-lawyers (self-represented litigants, McKenzie friends, lay advocates, employment advocates) who may use AI chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini) in preparing for proceedings.
Key Point: Generative AI is not a substitute for legal advice. Chatbots often provide inaccurate information about Australian law. They should not be your only or primary source of legal information. Whenever possible, seek advice from a lawyer or consult reliable resources:
- AustLII – www.austlii.edu.au
- Queensland Judgments – www.queenslandjudgments.com.au
- Queensland Legislation – www.legislation.qld.gov.au
- Legal Aid Queensland – www.legalaid.qld.gov.au
1. Understanding Generative AI
- Chatbots are based on Large Language Models (LLMs), which predict word patterns – they do not reason like humans, nor understand truth.
- Their responses are probabilistic guesses, not authoritative answers.
- They cannot provide tailored legal advice, assess your case, or consider cultural/emotional factors.
What they can do:
- Help organise information into structured documents.
- Suggest headings, formatting, tone, grammar, or style improvements.
- Provide general explanations of laws or concepts.
Limitations:
- Not trained on authoritative or up-to-date Australian law or court procedures.
- May produce fake cases, citations, or legislation.
- Cannot reliably predict case outcomes or success rates.
- Responses may be biased, misleading, or incomplete depending on the training data and your prompts.
2. Confidentiality, Suppression and Privacy
- Do not enter private, confidential, privileged, or suppressed information.
- Many AI tools store prompts and may use them in responses to other users.
- Inputting such material risks breaching suppression orders or exposing sensitive details.
3. Ensuring Accuracy
- You are responsible for checking the accuracy of anything submitted to the court.
- AI-generated outputs may be outdated, wrong, or based on foreign law.
- Courts may impose costs orders if inaccurate or fictitious material (e.g. fake citations) delays proceedings.
- Always cross-check with a lawyer (if possible) or reliable legal databases.
4. Ethical Issues
- AI reflects the errors and biases in its training data.
- Copyright and plagiarism risks arise if AI is used to summarise or reframe intellectual property (e.g. textbooks).
- AI-generated material must be checked for accuracy, meaning, and attribution.
- For speeches or submissions, AI may help outline ideas, but sources should be verified and cited when appropriate.
5. Security
- Follow standard security practices when using AI tools (work devices, secure logins, avoid public or shared platforms where possible).
Source: Queensland Courts
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