Put clear boundaries around staff use of AI tools

Many teams are already using AI tools for drafting, research, coding, customer communications or internal admin, often before the business has set clear rules. That can create issues around confidential information, accuracy, ownership of outputs, and whether staff are relying on tools in situations where human review is still needed. A written policy helps set expectations across the business. It can explain which tools are approved, what information must never be entered, when manager sign-off is required, and how AI-generated work should be checked before use.

A policy often covers approved and prohibited AI tools, acceptable use cases, restrictions on entering confidential or personal information, review and approval steps, record-keeping expectations, ownership and use of AI-generated outputs, and staff responsibilities if something goes wrong. It may also deal with external-facing content, coding assistance, customer support use, and whether employees can use personal AI accounts for work. The exact wording depends on your business practices, because the legal position depends heavily on how information is handled in practice, not just what the policy says on paper.

A general IT or device policy usually deals with access, hardware, networks and acceptable system use. An AI use policy goes further into tool-specific issues such as prompts, generated outputs, checking for errors or bias, confidentiality risks, and whether staff can rely on AI content in client, customer or internal decision-making. It can also address ownership and reuse of outputs, plus approval pathways for higher-risk uses. In many businesses, the AI policy works alongside existing policies rather than replacing them, because each document deals with a different set of operational risks.

Usually we need a practical picture of how AI is currently used or likely to be used in the business. That may include which tools staff access, what kinds of information they enter, whether outputs are used internally or externally, who approves higher-risk uses, and whether there are existing privacy, confidentiality or workplace policies that need to align with the new document. Once we have those details, we can draft a policy that reflects your operations. Timing depends on how quickly instructions and background documents are provided.

Sometimes a template helps you spot the main headings, but it will not always reflect how your team actually uses AI. For example, a business using AI in software development, marketing, support workflows or internal knowledge systems may need very different rules from a business using it only for low-risk admin tasks. The contract should reflect the practical arrangement, not just a generic precedent or one-sided checklist. A generic template may miss approval steps, prohibited data inputs, or the need for human review before outputs are shared or relied on.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Employee AI Use Policy service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

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