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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rytz.com.au/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The Create path is the guided wizard. It walks you from a blank page to a court-form-compliant first draft, asking the right questions in the right order. Best for first-time deponents and matters where you don’t know where to start. Route: app.rytz.com.au/affidavit-preparation/create. The wizard takes 60–120 minutes for a typical first affidavit. Faster on subsequent ones because the platform has already learned your matter shape.

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Before you start

  • Master Case File complete (parties, children, separation date, matter type, relevant disclosures)
  • Evidence Portfolio populated with at least the items you’d cite (you can add more during drafting)
  • You know what stage this affidavit is for (Initiating Application, Interim hearing, etc.)
  • You know what orders you’re seeking
  • 90 minutes of uninterrupted time
If any of those aren’t true, the wizard will surface them and pause until they’re addressed. Better to do them in order than mid-flow.

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The wizard’s structure

The wizard walks five sections in sequence. Each section can be saved and resumed.

1. Identification + matter framing

Who you are (name, address, occupation, capacity), the court and matter, and the orders you’re seeking. Sets up the standard header and capacity statement.

2. Background + chronology

The factual narrative of the relationship, separation, and key events. The wizard prompts for chronology in date order, helping you avoid the most common drafting mistake (jumping back and forth in time).

3. Substantive content

The body of the affidavit. Topic-by-topic prompts (parenting, finances, family violence, schooling, …) sized to the orders you’re seeking. Each topic walks specific factual prompts with admissibility guidance.

4. Annexures + exhibits

Cross-references to the Evidence Portfolio. Each substantive paragraph that names a document, photo, or message is matched to a Portfolio item; the platform auto-assigns labels (JL-1, JL-2, …).

5. Form check + jurat

Final compliance check (paragraph numbering, header, jurat block, exhibit cross-references), then the export to a court-form-compliant document.

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Walking the wizard

1

Open the wizard

From the Affidavit Preparation hub, click Create from scratch. Or go directly to app.rytz.com.au/affidavit-preparation/create.The wizard checks your prerequisites (MCF, Evidence Portfolio, stage selection). Anything missing surfaces a fix-it card before the wizard starts.
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Section 1 — Identification

Fields:
  • Full legal name (matches your court file)
  • Address (street, suburb, postcode — the court address, not a workplace)
  • Occupation
  • Court (Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Division 1 or 2)
  • Registry (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, etc.)
  • File number (if assigned)
  • Other party’s full legal name(s)
Most of this is auto-populated from your Master Case File. Confirm or correct.
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Section 2 — Background and chronology

The wizard asks for the relationship and post-separation chronology in date order. Prompts include:
  • When did the relationship begin? Where did you live?
  • When did you separate? Under what circumstances?
  • What were the children’s living arrangements at separation?
  • What changed since separation? When did each change happen?
  • Were any orders or agreements in place? When?
Each answer becomes 1–3 numbered paragraphs in the affidavit body. The wizard suggests phrasing that satisfies the Evidence Act’s admissibility rules.
The chronology section often reveals gaps in your own recollection. If you find yourself unsure of a date, mark it “approximate” — “in or around late February 2026” — rather than guessing precisely. Sworn imprecise is better than sworn wrong.
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Section 3 — Substantive content

This is the largest section. The wizard adapts to the orders you’re seeking.For parenting orders, the wizard walks:
  • Routine schedule and how it works in practice
  • Communication patterns
  • Changeover history
  • Schooling (continuity, performance, both parents’ involvement)
  • Medical and developmental
  • Family-violence overlay (if disclosed in MCF)
  • Cultural-connection clause (for ATSI children)
  • Specific events you want the court to know about
For property orders, the wizard walks:
  • Asset pool (real property, vehicles, super, businesses, debts)
  • Contributions (financial, non-financial, parental, homemaker)
  • Future-needs factors (s75(2))
  • Any wastage / reckless financial behaviour issues (relevant since the 10 June 2025 amendments codified the Kowaliw line)
  • Any economic / financial abuse issues (relevant since the 2025 amendments made FV an express property consideration)
  • Disclosure obligations (now in the Family Law Act itself, post-June-2025)
Each prompt has an admissibility-aware guide. “What did the other party say?” surfaces a hearsay warning with a rephrase suggestion (“don’t write what they said; write what they did”).
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Section 4 — Annexures and exhibits

The wizard scans your draft for assertions that should be supported by an annexure (named documents, dated messages, specific photos). For each, it shows candidate items from your Evidence Portfolio.Confirm the match (or pick a different item). The wizard auto-assigns labels in citation order: JL-1, JL-2, JL-3, … using your initials.Items that should be annexed but aren’t in the Portfolio yet are flagged as “missing evidence” — you can pause the wizard, upload the item to the Portfolio, then resume.
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Section 5 — Form check and jurat

The platform runs a compliance check:
  • Paragraph numbering (continuous, no gaps)
  • Header (court, registry, file number, parties)
  • Capacity statement (your role)
  • Each annexure correctly cross-referenced (cited paragraph + label)
  • Jurat block (ready for a witness signature)
  • Pagination (page X of Y on every page)
Issues flagged with one-click fixes. Once clean, click Export.
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Export and review

The wizard exports DOCX (for editing) and PDF (for final form). Review the PDF as if you were the judge reading it for the first time. Look for:
  • Tone — does it sound factual, or does it sound like a complaint?
  • Length — does each paragraph stay short?
  • Coherence — does the chronology flow?
  • Specificity — are dates, places, and people named precisely?
Edits can be made in the Interactive editor with paragraph-level AI suggestions, or in your own DOCX editor.
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Swear or affirm before an authorised witness

The platform produces the document. You swear or affirm it before an authorised witness — typically a Justice of the Peace, a solicitor, a notary, or a registered nurse / pharmacist (full list under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 (Cth) and state equivalents).The witness signs the jurat block confirming you swore or affirmed. The signed document is the affidavit.

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Pacing the wizard

The wizard saves automatically after every section. You can pace however suits:
PaceApproach
Single sitting (90–120 min)Best for short, urgent affidavits. Tiring but you stay in the same headspace throughout.
Two sittings (60 + 30 min)Sections 1–3 in one sitting, sections 4–5 the next day. Lets you sleep on the substantive content before finalising.
Iterative across a weekOne section a day. Best for complex matters where you need to gather evidence between sections.
The wizard is content with any pace. What it does not handle well is half-finishing a section and starting another — that produces inconsistencies. Finish the section you’re in before pausing.

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Common pitfalls

Don’t paste content from emails or messages into the affidavit body. Your affidavit is your statement. Quoting verbatim from the other party’s emails is hearsay unless you’re proving the email was sent (in which case the email itself becomes an annexure). Describe what happened; annexure the document.
Don’t treat the wizard as the lawyer. The wizard handles structure, form, and admissibility hygiene. It does not assess strategic decisions. Any contested matter should have at least one consultation with a family-law solicitor before the affidavit is sworn.
Don’t include confidential mediation content. Communications during FDR are confidential under section 10H of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). What you said at mediation cannot be repeated in an affidavit (with limited exceptions). The wizard flags any paragraph that looks like FDR-content.

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What’s next

Improve an existing draft

After exporting from the wizard, run an audit on the draft.

Interactive editor

Paragraph-level AI suggestions for further refinement.

Bundles for court

Once final, bundle the annexures into a court-ready PDF.

Respond to the other party

For your next affidavit — when you’re responding to theirs.