How Claim Done Drafts and Checks Your Document
Last updated · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice
Short answer: your document is drafted from your answers by our Programmatic Algorithms, using drafting instructions written for each type of document and each state and territory. A separate automatic check then reads the draft against your answers and corrects real errors. You then read it, change anything you like, and approve it. Nothing is sent before you approve it. No lawyer reviews it, and it is not legal advice.
1. The facts come from you
You answer questions about what happened: who, what, when, how much, and what you want. The drafting is told to use only those facts. It must not invent a name, date, amount, reference or event to fill a gap; where a detail is missing, the sentence is written so that it is true without it.
2. Drafting instructions for each document and each state
Each document type (a letter of demand, a tribunal application, a response, a notice) has its own drafting instructions. They set out the structure, the tone, and the law that applies in your state or territory, including which court or tribunal comes next. For example, a New South Wales letter for an unpaid invoice names the NSW Local Court, while a New South Wales consumer complaint against a business names NCAT.
Interest is handled carefully, because it is easy to get wrong:
- Interest under a contract is claimed only if the other party agreed to a rate before the debt arose (for example in signed terms or an accepted quote). A rate first printed on an overdue invoice does not count.
- Otherwise, a letter may say that a court can award interest, at the rate the courts publish, and only where we have checked the current rate at the official source. These rates change every six months in some states, so each one is used only until its next change. Where a rate has not been checked, the letter says “at the rate the court allows” instead of a number.
- Interest is kept out of the amount demanded, so the letter does not overstate what is owed.
3. A separate automatic check of every draft
After the draft is written, a second, separate pass reads it alongside the drafting instructions and your answers, and corrects only real errors. It checks for:
- a fact that contradicts your answers or is not supported by them (names, dates, amounts, addresses, reference numbers, what was said or done);
- arithmetic: totals, interest, instalments and deadlines must add up and match everywhere they appear;
- placeholders or gaps, such as “[insert date]” or “TBC”;
- notes or instructions meant for you that should not be in a letter to someone else;
- a law, court or tribunal that is wrong for your state, or legislation that does not exist;
- the wrong greeting or sign-off;
- the same party, amount or date given differently in two places, and any deadline that is already in the past;
- text that is cut off, repeated, or a second document that was not asked for;
- in a pack of documents, names, amounts and dates that do not match the other documents;
- a title or pronoun for a person that your answers did not give;
- a time limit stated as law without the section that sets it, and a remedy only a court or tribunal can order presented as something you are already entitled to;
- web addresses that are long, tracked or search-result links rather than direct links.
If the check finds nothing, the draft stands. If it corrects something, the corrected version is used only if it passes further safety checks (it must stay close to the original length, so nothing substantial is dropped, and contain no placeholders). If it does not pass, the original draft is kept. The check can improve a draft; it is not allowed to lose one.
4. You read it and approve it
- You see the whole document before anything happens.
- You can change any wording yourself, as often as you like, or ask for a redraft (two per document).
- Nothing is sent to anyone until you approve it. For letters, Claim Done then emails it to the other party and sends you a copy; registered post with a signature and tracking number is $29 extra.
- Tribunal and court documents are drafted for you to lodge yourself; you pay the tribunal’s or court’s own fee directly to it.
Before you approve, check the names, amounts and dates, and that the court or tribunal named fits your situation. You know the facts better than anyone.
What Claim Done does not do
- A lawyer does not review your document, and Claim Done does not give legal advice.
- Claim Done does not guarantee that you will be paid or win a case.
- Claim Done does not lodge tribunal or court documents for you, or represent you.
- Some matters are not suited to self-service documents: family violence or threats, criminal matters, insolvency, urgent court orders, or a dispute that needs advice about who is legally responsible. For these, contact a lawyer, Legal Aid in your state, or a community legal centre.
See a real example
Read a sample letter of demand produced by this process from fictional answers, with the answers shown and each part explained.
Letter of Demand: $49. Tribunal Application: $97.
Your answers and documents are handled as described in our privacy policy. Questions: support@claimdone.com.au or 02 8880 1347.
Questions
Does a lawyer check my document?
No. It is drafted by our Programmatic Algorithms and checked automatically, then you check and approve it. Claim Done is not a law firm.
Can the drafting make a mistake?
It can, which is why there is a separate check and why nothing is sent until you have read and approved it. If something is wrong, change it yourself or ask for a redraft.
Will it add facts I did not give?
It is instructed not to, and the check removes any statement your answers do not support.
How does it know which court or tribunal to name?
The drafting instructions set out the court or tribunal for each state and type of claim, and the check corrects a forum or law that is wrong for your state.