Avand · Consent pack v1.0

Patient consent for AI-assisted documentation

A one-page patient form, a verbal script, and a clinician guide — built to the APS February 2026 requirement that consent to AI must name the specific tool.

Avand Solutions Pty Ltd · ABN 96 687 039 416Version 1.0 · 28 July 2026

Download the form

Both files carry the Avand Health letterhead and are set on A4. The version and date are stamped on every page, so a signed copy can always be matched to the wording it used.

How to use this

We publish this template because it names Avand specifically and describes what it does. You may use it as a starting point; it does not replace your own judgement about what your setting, profession and jurisdiction require. It is not legal advice. Adapt it to your practice, and have it reviewed if your setting calls for that.

This consent stands apart from consent to treatment. See §10 of our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.

1. The patient form

One page. Six clauses. Written to be read by someone who is unwell and may be anxious.

Consent form

Recording your session, and how your notes are written

Your clinician

Practice

Your clinician uses Avand, software made by Avand Solutions Pty Ltd, to help write up your sessions. Please read this through. Ask anything you like first — there is no rush, and you can say no.

1The session is recorded — audio only.
Recording starts only after you agree, and only when your clinician turns it on. If someone else is with you — a family member, support person or interpreter — they are asked too.
2Avand writes the first draft. Your clinician checks it.
The recording is sent to Avand, which turns it into a written transcript and then drafts your clinician’s notes — including suggestions about your diagnosis and about your wellbeing and safety. Your clinician reads all of it, corrects anything that isn’t right, and nothing goes into your health record unless they confirm it. You can ask your clinician at any time exactly what Avand drafts — they can show you the full list.
3Your clinician may use those drafts to write letters
to your GP, or to other people involved in your care.
4Your information stays in Australia.
The recording, the transcript and the notes are held and processed for Avand on Microsoft’s Australian servers, and never leave Australia. They can be seen only by your clinician, authorised staff at the practice, and Avand, the company that provides and supports the software. They are never used to train AI.
5You can say no, or stop at any time.
That includes part-way through a session — it stops straight away, and nothing about your care changes. You can ask your clinician to delete the audio recording at any time, and they can do that straight away; otherwise it is kept with the rest of your record. The transcript, and the notes your clinician has confirmed, stay in your health record, because your clinician has to keep that record by law: seven years after your last appointment, or — if you were under 18 — until you turn 25, whichever is later.
6This stays in place until you change it.
Your clinician will check with you before each recorded session, and will ask you to sign again if what Avand does changes.

Our privacy policy at avandhealth.com.au/privacy-policy explains how to see or correct your information and how to make a complaint. You can also speak to your clinician, or email [email protected].

A copy of this form is yours to keep.

I have read this, I have had the chance to ask questions, and I agree.

Patient's name

Signature

Date

If you are signing for the patient — parent, guardian, or someone legally able to decide

Name

Relationship to patient

Signature

Date

If a parent or guardian signs for you, your clinician will still talk with you about what stays private between you and your clinician.

Anyone else present at this session — they are recorded too, so they agree as well

Name

Signature

Name

Signature

Clinician

I explained this, answered any questions, and everyone above agreed before any recording started.

Name

Signature

Date

Avand Solutions Pty Ltd ABN 96 687 039 416 · [email protected] · avandhealth.com.au/privacy-policy · Avand patient consent v1.0 · 28 July 2026

2. The verbal script

This is what most clinicians will actually use, so it matters more than the form.

“Before we start — I use a tool called Avand. It records our session and drafts my notes, including suggestions about a diagnosis and about how you’re doing. I read everything it writes and correct it, and nothing goes into your record unless I confirm it. It’s held securely here in Australia, it never leaves the country, and it’s never used to train AI. You can ask me to delete the recording at any time. You can also say no, or ask me to stop at any point, and it makes no difference to your care. Is it okay if I record?”

Say it before you start recording, and wait for an answer. If anyone else is in the room, ask them too, by name. Then write in your session notes that you asked and what they said.

3. Clinician guide

Short enough that a busy clinician will read it.

Written form, or verbal script?

Written form — the first time you record with this person, and any time someone else is signing for them. If you are an APS member, use it: the APS Professional Practice Guidelines for the Use of AI and Emerging Technologies (February 2026) require consent that names the specific tool. “Blanket consent for ‘AI use’ is not sufficient.”
Verbal script — every recorded session after the first. You can also use it for a first recording where the form isn’t practical (telehealth, a distressed first contact), then sign the form before the next recorded session.

Never — record first and ask second

In NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT, recording a private conversation without everyone’s agreement is a criminal offence. In Victoria, Queensland and the NT you may record a conversation you are part of — but sending that recording to anyone who wasn’t there is a separate offence unless everyone agreed, and sending it to Avand is exactly that.

One rule everywhere: ask first, ask everyone, every time.

Everyone in the room

Every voice on the recording has to agree — partner, parent, support person, interpreter, group members. Ask out loud, and have them sign the “anyone else present” line. If it’s verbal, name each of them in your note.

When to ask again

Before every recorded session. Whenever the form is reissued because what Avand does has changed. At least once a year as good practice. And whenever the person’s situation shifts — a young person now able to decide for themselves, or a change in capacity.

If they decline

Run the session without recording, say plainly that it changes nothing about their care, and don’t raise it again that session. Note the decline in your file so they aren’t asked cold next time. They can change their mind whenever they like.

If they withdraw mid-session

Stop the recording immediately. Ask whether they want the audio deleted; if yes, delete it. The transcript and anything you have already confirmed into the record stay there. Say that plainly rather than promising a clean wipe — a promise you can’t keep costs more than the honest answer. Note the withdrawal in the session.

If they ask what Avand drafts

Tell them, in full: the transcript, your session notes, a mental state examination, possible diagnoses (marked provisional until you confirm them), risk and safety content, symptom trends, a formulation, medications mentioned, and draft letters — GP summaries, referrals, Better Access plans. Everything is a draft until you confirm it, and unconfirmed items never enter the record.

Minors

No age rule — decide whether this young person understands what they are agreeing to. If they do, they sign. If they don’t, a parent or guardian signs with the relationship stated, and you still involve the young person as far as they are able. Either way, tell them before you record what stays private between you.

Not legal advice. This template is a starting point only. It does not replace your own judgement about what your setting, profession and jurisdiction require, and it does not satisfy or discharge any consent obligation that rests with you.