{"id":19463,"date":"2026-10-21T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuatan.com.au\/trustees-using-ai-duties-verification-legal-privilege-australia\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T18:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T07:35:22","slug":"trustees-using-ai-duties-verification-legal-privilege-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chuatan.com.au\/en\/trustees-using-ai-duties-verification-legal-privilege-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Trustees Using AI: Duties, Verification and Legal Privilege in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"ct-article\" data-no-translation>\n<p>Australian law does not prevent a trustee from using artificial intelligence, but it does not change who is responsible for the decision. The trustee must still give real and genuine consideration to the matter, take relevant matters into account, disregard irrelevant ones and act in good faith, and an AI tool cannot carry out that duty for the trustee. In practice, a trustee who uses AI should be able to show what question was asked, what information was used, how the output was checked against the source documents, and how the trustee reached its own decision, all without putting confidential or privileged material at risk.<\/p>\n<p>This article is written for trustees of family (discretionary) trusts, directors of corporate trustees, executors and administrators, and the family offices and advisers who support them. Our earlier article on <a href=\"\/en\/estate-planning-professional-standards-ai\/\">estate planning, professional standards and AI<\/a> looks at the adviser&#8217;s side. Here the focus is on the person or company that holds the power and must exercise it.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What trustees must do when exercising a discretion<\/h2>\n<p>Most family trust deeds give the trustee wide discretions: whom to pay income to each year, whether to advance capital, whether to lend to a beneficiary, whether to sell or keep an asset. However the deed is worded, the discretion is a fiduciary power and is exercised under well-established principles. Courts will generally not substitute their own view of what the trustee should have decided, but they will intervene where the decision was not made properly. Australian courts commonly ask whether the trustee:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>acted in good faith;<\/li>\n<li>gave real and genuine consideration to whether and how to exercise the power;<\/li>\n<li>exercised the power for the purpose for which it was given;<\/li>\n<li>took relevant matters into account and did not take irrelevant matters into account; and<\/li>\n<li>informed itself, to an extent appropriate to the trust, about the matters relevant to the decision, including the circumstances of the beneficiaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Victorian decision in <em>Karger v Paul<\/em> [1984] VR 161 is a well-known statement of the limits on review of a trustee&#8217;s discretion and is frequently cited for the &#8220;real and genuine consideration&#8221; requirement. More recently, in <em>Owies v JJE Nominees Pty Ltd<\/em> [2022] VSCA 142, the Victorian Court of Appeal removed the trustee of a family trust and replaced it with an independent trustee. The court found that the trustee had not given real and genuine consideration to the circumstances of two primary beneficiaries, and had not taken steps to inform itself about them. The case is a reminder that the extent of the duty to inquire depends on the trust, but it cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The duty of care, and investment decisions<\/h3>\n<p>Alongside these principles, trustees must exercise the care, skill and diligence of a prudent person managing the affairs of others. For investments, the <em>Trustee Act 1958<\/em> (Vic) makes this explicit. Section 6 requires a trustee exercising a power of investment, subject to the trust instrument, to exercise the care, diligence and skill of a prudent person, with a higher standard for professional trustees, and to review the performance of trust investments at least once a year. Section 8 lists matters the trustee must have regard to so far as they are appropriate, including the purposes of the trust and the needs and circumstances of the beneficiaries, diversification, risk, liquidity and tax consequences. Other states and territories have broadly similar provisions. It also permits the trustee to obtain and consider independent and impartial advice.<\/p>\n<p>AI can help a trustee work through these matters more thoroughly. It cannot be the reason the trustee did, or did not, consider them.<\/p>\n\n<h2>A trustee cannot delegate its discretion to a tool<\/h2>\n<p>As a general rule, a trustee must personally exercise the discretions entrusted to it unless the trust deed or legislation permits delegation. Trustees may employ agents for many tasks. In Victoria, section 28 of the <em>Trustee Act 1958<\/em> allows trustees and personal representatives to employ lawyers, banks, licensed financial advisers and other agents. But taking advice, or having an agent carry out administrative work, is different from handing over the decision itself.<\/p>\n<p>The same line applies to AI. Using a tool to summarise a deed, collate beneficiaries&#8217; financial information, model distribution scenarios or draft minutes is assistance. Adopting a recommended distribution because &#8220;the system produced it&#8221;, without the trustee forming its own view, risks being treated as a failure to exercise the discretion at all. A pattern of identical outcomes year after year, or reasoning that simply repeats a tool&#8217;s output, can also suggest that the trustee did not turn its mind to the decision.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The record of deliberation<\/h2>\n<p>Trustees of discretionary trusts are generally not required to give reasons for their decisions. But when a decision is challenged, by a beneficiary, a family member or a regulator, the trustee&#8217;s records are usually the most important evidence of how the decision was made. Courts have also held that reasons a trustee does give, or records that disclose the reasoning, may be examined to test whether the discretion was properly exercised.<\/p>\n<p>Minutes and resolutions that merely state the outcome (&#8220;resolved to distribute income as follows&#8221;) say little about what was considered. Where AI is used, the record should show at least:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the decision to be made and the relevant clause of the deed;<\/li>\n<li>the information the trustee considered, including the beneficiaries&#8217; circumstances;<\/li>\n<li>whether an AI tool was used, for what task, and what question it was asked;<\/li>\n<li>what was checked against the source documents (the deed, financial statements, tax advice, valuations) and by whom;<\/li>\n<li>any advice received from lawyers, accountants or other advisers; and<\/li>\n<li>the trustee&#8217;s own reasons, including where the trustee departed from a summary or suggestion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A record of what was discussed, and how much discussion took place, is how a trustee shows that it considered the matter genuinely rather than mechanically.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Using AI well: question, input, verification<\/h2>\n<h3>The question asked<\/h3>\n<p>The output of an AI tool depends heavily on the question. &#8220;How should the trust distribute income this year?&#8221; invites the tool to make the decision. &#8220;Summarise the beneficiary class and the income and capital distribution powers in this deed, with clause references&#8221; asks for help the trustee can check. The trustee, not the tool, decides what is relevant to the decision.<\/p>\n<h3>The information fed in<\/h3>\n<p>A tool can only work with what it is given, and it may fill gaps with confident but wrong assumptions. If an amending deed, a change of appointor or a beneficiary&#8217;s changed circumstances is missing, the analysis is incomplete.<\/p>\n<h3>Verification against source documents<\/h3>\n<p>AI tools can misstate clauses, invent case references and apply the law of the wrong jurisdiction. Every statement the trustee relies on, including the effect of a clause, a tax consequence or a legal rule, should be checked against the source document or confirmed by an adviser. The courts have taken the same approach to their own processes. The Supreme Court of New South Wales Practice Note SC Gen 23, which took effect on 3 February 2025, requires practitioners who use generative AI to verify that every citation and legal reference exists and is accurate and relevant, and states that this verification cannot itself be done using generative AI. The Supreme Court of Victoria&#8217;s guidelines on responsible use of AI in litigation make the related point that using AI does not relieve the responsible person of the need to exercise judgment.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Confidentiality and privacy of beneficiary information<\/h2>\n<p>Trustees hold sensitive information: beneficiaries&#8217; incomes, health, relationships, debts and family disputes. A trustee owes duties of confidence in relation to trust information, and some trustees are also bound by the <em>Privacy Act 1988<\/em> (Cth). Whether the Act applies depends on the entity. For example, many smaller businesses are exempt under the small business exemption, but corporate trustees within larger groups, professional trustee companies and others may be covered. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner&#8217;s guidance on commercially available AI products recommends, as best practice, that organisations do not enter personal information, and particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools.<\/p>\n<p>From 10 December 2026, organisations covered by the Privacy Act that use computer programs to make, or substantially and directly assist in making, decisions that could significantly affect an individual&#8217;s rights or interests using personal information must describe this in their privacy policies. Trustees covered by the Act should consider whether any AI-assisted processes fall within these new transparency obligations.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Legal privilege: the risk of public AI tools<\/h2>\n<p>Client legal privilege protects confidential communications made for the dominant purpose of legal advice or litigation. Confidentiality is a precondition. Privilege can be lost where the client acts in a way inconsistent with keeping the communication confidential, and the test is objective, not what the client intended.<\/p>\n<p>A trustee who pastes a lawyer&#8217;s advice into an open, consumer-grade chat tool, or uploads it to summarise it for the family, may be acting inconsistently with confidentiality, particularly where the provider&#8217;s terms allow it to retain, review or use the content. No Australian court has yet given a definitive ruling on AI and privilege as at the date of writing, but courts have signalled concern. NSW Practice Note SC Gen 23 identifies the risk that public generative AI tools lack adequate safeguards to preserve confidentiality, privacy and legal professional privilege, and restricts entering certain protected court material into such tools. The Federal Court of Australia issued its own generative AI practice note in April 2026. Overseas, a United States federal court in early 2026 refused to treat documents a defendant generated using a public AI platform as privileged.<\/p>\n<p>The practical rule is simple: privileged advice should not go into a tool unless the trustee is satisfied, on the provider&#8217;s contractual terms and settings, that the content remains confidential, is not used for training and is not accessible to others. If in doubt, ask the lawyer who gave the advice before using AI to work with it.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Judgement and experience<\/h2>\n<p>Judgement comes from experience: from reading the deed, working through the family&#8217;s circumstances, weighing competing interests and living with the consequences. If the analysis of every decision is done by a tool, the people who will become the next trustees, directors or family office staff may never build that experience. Over-reliance can therefore weaken the very judgement the law expects trustees to exercise.<\/p>\n<p>For families planning succession, this matters. The next generation should be trained to use AI as a research and drafting aid while still doing the core thinking themselves, and to explain in their own words why a decision was made. Trusts used the wrong way are a common source of trustee litigation, and a trustee who understands the deed and the family is better placed to avoid that. Our article on <a href=\"\/en\/testamentary-trust-vs-family-trust-vs-will\/\">testamentary trusts, family trusts and Wills<\/a> explains how these structures differ.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Cross-border trustees and family offices<\/h2>\n<p>Many Asian families with Australian beneficiaries have trustees, family offices or private bankers in Singapore or Hong Kong. Where a trust has Australian beneficiaries or Australian assets, Australian trust law, tax law and sometimes the Privacy Act may be relevant even if the trustee is offshore. Points to consider include:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Issue<\/th><th>Why it matters<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>Governing law of the deed<\/td><td>The trustee&#8217;s duties are determined by the trust&#8217;s governing law, but an Australian court may become involved where beneficiaries or assets are here.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Where decisions are made<\/td><td>For Australian tax purposes, a trust&#8217;s residency can depend on where the trustee resides or where central management and control is exercised. Records of who decided, where and how, including any AI-assisted analysis, can become evidence. Tax advice should be obtained.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Australian tax rules applied correctly<\/td><td>General AI tools may not reliably apply Australian rules on distributions to resident and non-resident beneficiaries, or the treatment of income and capital. Outputs should be checked by an Australian adviser.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Data protection in each place<\/td><td>Singapore and Hong Kong regulators have issued their own guidance on AI and personal data. A family office may need to satisfy both its local regime and Australian requirements.<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Language<\/td><td>Translating deeds, letters of wishes or advice with AI can change meaning. Key documents relied on for a decision should be checked by a qualified translator or lawyer.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h2>Executors and administrators<\/h2>\n<p>The same principles apply to executors and administrators, who are also fiduciaries. AI can help prepare an asset list, sort correspondence or draft an estate account, but the executor remains personally responsible for paying debts and tax in the right order, for timing distributions and for answering to beneficiaries. Our <a href=\"\/en\/executor-duties-checklist-australia\/\">executor duties checklist<\/a> sets out those steps.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Practical checklist for trustees using AI<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Adopt a written policy<\/strong> covering which tools may be used, for which tasks, and what information may never be entered.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use tools with appropriate data terms<\/strong>: no training on your data, controlled retention and access, and settings you have checked.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep privileged advice out of open tools.<\/strong> Ask your lawyer before using AI with legal advice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Minimise personal information.<\/strong> Use only what is needed for the task; consider de-identifying beneficiary details.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Frame the question as assistance<\/strong>, not as a request for the decision.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check outputs against the deed and source documents<\/strong>, and have advisers confirm legal and tax points.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Record the process<\/strong>: the question, the inputs, what was verified, the advice received and the trustee&#8217;s own reasons.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make the decision at a meeting or by resolution<\/strong> that reflects genuine discussion, especially for corporate trustees with several directors.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Train the people involved<\/strong>, including the next generation, so that judgement continues to be built.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Review the policy regularly<\/strong> as tools, court guidance and privacy obligations change.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h2>Common mistakes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Treating an AI-generated distribution recommendation as the decision.<\/li>\n<li>Uploading a lawyer&#8217;s advice to a free chat tool to &#8220;simplify it for the family&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Minutes that record only the outcome, with nothing on what was considered.<\/li>\n<li>Assuming that a foreign trustee or family office is outside Australian law in all respects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>How we can assist<\/h2>\n<p>We advise trustees, corporate trustee directors, executors and family offices on the exercise of trustee discretions, deed interpretation, trustee minutes and record-keeping, and the risks of disputes between beneficiaries. We also act as or alongside <a href=\"\/en\/professional-executor-trustee\/\">professional executors and trustees<\/a> and can review AI-use policies for trust and estate administration from a legal perspective. Where trust decisions have caused conflict within a family, mediation is often a practical first step.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Related reading<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"ct-related\"><li><a href=\"\/en\/estate-planning-professional-standards-ai\/\">Estate Planning, Professional Standards and AI<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/professional-executor-trustee\/\">Professional executor and trustee services<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/testamentary-trust-vs-family-trust-vs-will\/\">Testamentary Trust vs Family Trust vs a Simple Will: Which Suits You?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/executor-duties-checklist-australia\/\">Executor Duties Checklist: A Step-by-Step Guide for Executors in Australia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/family-trust-used-wrong-way-how-trusts-attacked-australia\/\">Using a Family Trust the Wrong Way: How Trusts Are Attacked in Australia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/family-business-trust-dispute-resolution-process\/\">Designing Your Family&#8217;s Dispute Process Before the Dispute<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/trustee-duties-family-trust-distribution-resolution-30-june\/\">Trustee Duties in a Family Trust: Decisions That Stand Up<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<p><em>Chua Tan Associates acts for families, executors, trustees and their professional advisers in estate planning, estate administration and estate disputes in Australia and across borders. To arrange a confidential consultation, please contact our Melbourne office on +61 3 9602 3988 or submit an <a href=\"#ct-enquiry\">enquiry<\/a>. Advice is available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"ct-byline\"><em><a href=\"\/en\/justin-chua\/\">Justin Chua<\/a> (\u8521\u667a\u52cb), lawyer and mediator, Chua Tan Associates, Melbourne. General information only, not legal or tax advice.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"ct-enquiry\" class=\"ct-eq\" data-no-translation>\r\n<style>.ct-eq{background:#f4f1ea;border:1px solid #e3ddd0;border-radius:10px;padding:22px 24px;margin:32px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.6}.ct-eq h2,.ct-eq h3{margin:0 0 6px}.ct-eq p{margin:0 0 12px}.ct-eq form{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:12px}.ct-eq label{display:block;font-size:14px;font-weight:600;margin-bottom:4px}.ct-eq input,.ct-eq select,.ct-eq textarea{width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;padding:10px 12px;border:1px solid #cfc6b4;border-radius:6px;font-size:16px;background:#fff}.ct-eq .full{grid-column:1\/-1}.ct-eq button{background:#8a6a3b;color:#fff;border:0;border-radius:6px;padding:12px 22px;font-size:16px;cursor:pointer}.ct-eq .hp{position:absolute;left:-9999px}.ct-eq small{color:#5f5a50}.ct-eq .ok{background:#e7f3e8;border-left:4px solid #3c8d40;padding:12px 16px}.ct-eq .bad{background:#fbeaea;border-left:4px solid #b03a2e;padding:12px 16px}.ct-eq .ct-direct{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;margin-top:14px}.ct-eq .ct-direct a,.ct-eq .ct-direct button{background:#fff;color:#2b2b2b;border:1px solid #cfc6b4;padding:9px 14px;border-radius:6px;text-decoration:none;font-size:15px}@media(max-width:640px){.ct-eq form{grid-template-columns:1fr}}<\/style>\r\n<h3>Tell us about the estate<\/h3>\r\n<p>A short message is enough. 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Sending this form does not create a lawyer\u2013client relationship. <a href=\"\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy<\/a><\/small><\/div>\r\n<\/form>\r\n<div class=\"ct-direct\"><strong style=\"width:100%\">Or contact us directly<\/strong>\r\n<a href=\"tel:+61396023988\">Call +61 3 9602 3988<\/a>\r\n<a href=\"mailto:chuatan@tpg.com.au\">chuatan@tpg.com.au<\/a>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wa.me\/61490369102\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WhatsApp +61 490 369 102<\/a>\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"ct-wechat\" data-msg=\"WeChat ID copied\">WeChat: chuatan262<\/button>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\t\n\n<div class=\"ct-guides\" data-no-translation><style>.ct-guides{margin:28px 0}.ct-guides ul{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(230px,1fr));gap:10px;list-style:none;padding:0;margin:10px 0 0}.ct-guides li{margin:0}.ct-guides a{display:block;padding:12px 14px;border:1px solid #e3ddd0;border-radius:6px;text-decoration:none;background:#fff;height:100%}<\/style><h3>Estate guides<\/h3><ul><li><a href=\"\/en\/do-i-need-probate\/\">Do I need probate? 2-minute check<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/what-to-do-when-someone-dies\/\">What to do when someone dies: 30-day checklist<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/letters-of-administration-victoria\/\">No Will? Letters of administration and who inherits<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/estate-planning-victoria\/\">Estate planning: Will, power of attorney, medical decisions<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/testamentary-trusts\/\">Testamentary trusts<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/superannuation-and-your-will\/\">Superannuation and your Will<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/executor-disputes\/\">Executor problems and disputes<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/professional-executor-trustee\/\">Professional executor &amp; trustee services<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/%E5%AE%A2%E6%88%B7%E8%AF%84%E4%BB%B7\/\">Client reviews<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australian law does not prevent a trustee from using ar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-25","category-trusts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.2 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trustees Using AI: Duties, Verification and Privilege | Chua Tan Associates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can trustees use AI in Australia? 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