Used AI for a Fair Work Commission claim? The disclosure rules from 20 October 2026

What changed on 20 October 2026

The Fair Work Commission published its Guidance Note: Use of generative artificial intelligence in Commission cases on 24 August 2026. Paragraph 5 says it "commences on 20 October 2026". The same day, the President, Justice Hatcher, issued a statement saying the Commission would also change its forms in all individual rights matters "to include an AI disclosure and declaration", taking effect on the same date.

The Commission's reason, in the President's words: its total workload rose by over 70 per cent in three years, which "has coincided with the introduction and popularisation of generative artificial intelligence", and the Commission infers that the increase is "principally the result of the increasing use of AI tools by potential litigants".

The Commission's plain-English page is Using AI to help you with your case. It says the requirements "apply to all Commission matters from 20 October 2026".

Who it applies to and which documents

The Guidance Note applies when you use generative AI "to help you create, write, edit, modify or otherwise prepare an application to the Commission or any other document to be lodged in a Commission case" (paragraph 6). It is written for anyone in a case: applicants, employers and other respondents, witnesses and representatives.

"Document" is defined broadly (paragraph 46). It includes Commission forms and templates, submissions, chronologies, declarations, witness statements, statements of agreed facts and other evidence.

What counts as AI. Generative AI is a tool that generates new text, images, audio or other material from your prompts. The Note names ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot and Gemini as examples. Zoe is also a generative AI tool. E-discovery software and an ordinary search engine are not covered, but an AI summary of search results is.

What does not count as "use". Using AI "only to check spelling or grammar in a document or to format a document" is not use for these rules (paragraph 7).

The three requirements

1. Say that you used AI and how (paragraph 8). On a Commission form that has a GenAI section, you meet this by completing that section (paragraph 27). For other documents, the Note suggests the words "GenAI was used in preparing this document", followed by how you used it, for example to research the law or Commission processes, organise facts and a timeline, transcribe or translate, write content, or edit content you wrote yourself.

2. Check everything yourself and say you did (paragraphs 9, 10 and 29 to 33). Before lodging, you must make sure:

• every fact and piece of evidence referred to is correct and actually exists
• every case, law, textbook and article cited exists and supports what you say it supports
• every quote or extract is accurate and comes from where you say it does.

The checking "must be done by a person". You cannot meet it by asking the same AI tool, or a different one, to check the document (paragraph 31). The Note points to reliable places to check: the Commission's case law benchbooks and its decisions search, AustLII and Jade for court decisions, and the Fair Work Act 2009 and other laws on the Federal Register of Legislation. For documents without a GenAI section, the suggested statement is: "All details in this document have been checked. To the best of my knowledge they are correct and relevant to the case."

3. Witness statements and declarations must be in the witness's own knowledge and words (paragraphs 12, 13 and 34 to 38). The Note says you "should not use GenAI to create the factual content of a witness statement or declaration". AI can be used to transcribe or translate, but the statement must reflect the witness's own words. The suggested wording is "This statement/declaration is based on my own knowledge and reflects my own words", with a signed declaration that it "is true to the best of my knowledge".

What the revised forms ask

The revised forms on the Commission's forms page are marked "approved with effect from 20 October 2026" and include a "Use of GenAI" section. The changed forms include Form F2 (unfair dismissal application), F3 (employer response to an unfair dismissal application), F8 (general protections dismissal application), F8A (response to F8), F8C (general protections not involving dismissal), F72 (application to stop bullying at work) and the F73 and F74 responses, the sexual harassment forms F75, F76, F77, F73A and F74A, plus F6 (costs) and F7 (notice of appeal). When we checked on 20 October 2026, Form F72A (stopping sexual harassment that started before 6 March 2023) was still the September 2025 version, without a GenAI section.

On Form F2, Part 5 "Use of GenAI" asks "Did you use GenAI to help you prepare this application?" If yes, you tick how you used it: researching the law or processes, organising facts and evidence, transcribing, translating, writing content, editing your own content, or other. Everyone then completes a declaration that they have checked all details, including that the cases and legislation exist and support the positions stated, and that quotes are correct. The President's statement says all users must complete the AI section and the checking declaration "regardless of whether AI was used".

When we checked on 20 October 2026, the Commission's witness statement and outline of submissions templates had not yet been updated with a GenAI section. For those, the wording in the Guidance Note (above) is the guide.

Privacy: what not to put into AI

The Note says you should not give public AI tools personal information about another person in the case, or confidential information about the case (paragraphs 14 and 40). "Public GenAI" includes free and paid versions of ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot and Gemini. Examples of confidential information include what was said in settlement discussions at a Commission conference, documents obtained under a Commission order, and anything covered by a non-publication order (paragraph 42). The Commission also recommends not giving public AI tools your own personal information (paragraph 40), and suggests leaving out names and identifying details (paragraph 43).

What happens if you do not comply

Paragraph 15 lists what may happen: your documents may be given less weight or disregarded, you may be ordered to pay another party's costs, or your case may be dismissed. Telling the Commission you used AI "will not change how we treat the merits of your document", provided you follow the Note (paragraph 26).

Knowingly giving the Commission false or misleading information is an offence under section 137.1 of the Criminal Code, and giving false or misleading sworn or affirmed evidence as a witness is an offence under section 678 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Each carries up to 12 months' imprisonment, as the Note points out.

Extra rules for lawyers and representatives

A "professional representative" (a lawyer or paid agent, an HR adviser employed by the party, or an employee or officer of a union, employer organisation, peak council or not-for-profit acting for the party) who uses AI must include hyperlinks to all case law cited, where available (paragraph 45). For everyone else, hyperlinks are recommended. A legal practitioner who fails to meet professional obligations in using AI may face a complaint to their legal services regulator (paragraph 44).

Worked example: a costs order in an AI-assisted claim

This decision came before the Guidance Note started, but it shows the risk the Note is aimed at. In Sadnan Khan v Aldi Pty Ltd [2026] FWC 3144 (19 August 2026), Deputy President Easton found that an applicant who "relied heavily on artificial intelligence to start and continue his unfair dismissal claim acted unreasonably by continuing his claim" after it should have been clear that, on his own version of events, he could not win. The applicant had been notified of his dismissal 3 days short of the 6-month minimum employment period, so he was never eligible. He was ordered to pay $1,230 of the employer's costs. The decision records that an appeal has been lodged.

If you use Zoe for a Fair Work Commission matter

Zoe is generative AI. If anything Zoe helped with ends up in a form or document you lodge with the Commission, the rules above apply: say in the document that GenAI was used and how, check every fact, case, section and quote against the original source yourself, and leave out other people's personal details and confidential case material when you ask. Zoe links its sources so they can be checked, but a link is not the check: the Note says the checking "must be done by a person", against sources known to be correct.

For the claim itself, see unfair dismissal at the Fair Work Commission.

Where to get help

Fair Work Commission: 1300 799 675 Using AI to help you with your case Forms