Federal Court publishes GenAI Practice Note

On 16 April 2026, the Federal Court of Australia (Court) published the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Practice Note (GPN-AI) (Cth) (GenAI Practice Note).  The GenAI Practice Note provides guidance on the Court’s expectations of participants’ use of Generative AI (GenAI) in Court proceedings and the factors which the Court may consider when pronouncing orders about GenAI use.

Notice to the Profession

On 16 April 2026, a Notice to the Profession was issued by the Chief Justice, Honourable Debra Sue Mortimer (Chief Justice), regarding the GenAI Practice Note (Notice to the Profession).

The Notice to the Profession explained the competing interests of the “administration of justice with the responsible adoption of emerging technologies” which underpinned the drafting of the GenAI Practice Note.

The Chief Justice stated that the Court recognises GenAI’s “potential benefits for efficiency, cost reduction and access to justice” and the importance of “maintaining parties’ accountability for material”.

Application of the GenAI Practice Note

The GenAI Practice Note applies to all persons who appear before or file documents with the Court including:

• litigants with and without legal representation;
• legal representatives and counsel; and
• witnesses and other third parties.

Note 1.2 defined GenAI as technology that can “create content as text, images, music, audio and videos based on a user’s “prompts””.  The following platforms were identified by the Court as exemplary of the technology which the GenAI Practice Note is concerned with:

• OpenAI’s ChatGPT;
• Anthropic’s Claude;
• Counsel AI Corporation’s Harvey;
• Google Gemini; and
• Microsoft Copilot.

(GenAI Tools).

Disclosure obligations under the GenAI Practice Note

As per Note 4, while caution is required, disclosure of GenAI use is not needed where it is utilised in the preparation of:

• pleadings;
• written submissions;
• lists of documents; and
• other documents or information lodged with or sent to the Court.

Note 4.10 states that the use of GenAI must be disclosed to the court where it is used to prepare:

• affidavits;
• expert reports; and
• other evidentiary materials.

Note 4.11 states that this disclosure must:

• be made as concisely as possible;
• be made at the start of the body of the document; and
• state where in the document GenAI has been used and how it has been used.

Note 4.5 states that some proceeding documents must list the name of the person responsible for preparation of the document, who will be expected to confirm:

• cited legal authorities exist;
• evidence cited in submissions exists and is admissible;
• statements about what the evidence proves are findings that the Court could reasonably make;
• chronologies are accurate; and
• lists of documents are compliant in form and content.

Warnings made by the GenAI Practice Note

Note 4.3 warned that GenAI is prone to:

• hallucinations of fictitious cases, citations or quotes;
• incorrect or misleading information on the law or how it might apply;
• factual errors; and
• confirmation that information is accurate if asked, even when it is not.

Note 4.14 of the GenAI Practice Note states that the mere act of uploading information to a GenAI Tools may amount to the unlawful disclosure of information where that information is:

• the subject of Court orders requiring confidentiality, suppression or non-publication;
• privileged;
• under implied obligation not to be used for purposes other than proceedings; or
• otherwise confidential or private.

Note 5.1 warns that use of GenAI in a way that is inconsistent with the GenAI Practice Note or Court orders will result in consequences including adverse costs orders and issues as to compliance with legal and professional obligations.

The GenAI Practice Note encouraged the contextualisation of the new guidance in the existing frameworks provided by the:

• Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth);
• Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth);
• Technology and the Court Practice Note (GPN-TECH) (Cth); and
• Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2023 (Cth).

Takeaways

The practical implications of the GenAI Practice Note are minor as the guidelines merely clarify the permissible use of the technology.

Note 6.2 foresees the inability of the GenAI Practice Note to remain up to date given the “dynamic and constantly evolving nature” of GenAI.  Rather than updating the GenAI Practice Note, the Court has identified GenAI Resources to assist lawyers and non-lawyers using GenAI in proceedings.

According to paragraph 7 of the Notice to the Profession, the Court is preparing to convene a symposium in the “coming months” to consider the challenges and benefits of GenAI in proceedings, in the context of the GenAI Practice Note and current developments in the use of artificial intelligence technologies.

Links and further references

Legislation

Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2023 (Cth)

Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth)

Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth)

Technology and the Court Practice Note (GPN-TECH) (Cth)

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Practice Note (GPN-AI) (Cth)

Further information

If you or your company needs representation in Federal Court proceedings, contact us for a confidential and obligation‑free discussion.

Disclaimer

This article contains general commentary only.  You should not rely on the commentary as legal advice.  Specific legal advice should be obtained to ascertain how the law applies to your particular circumstances

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