How Goodman’s Australian Legal Team Used Checkbox to Accelerate Efficiency

Creating streamlined, consistent document drafting for Goodman’s Australian legal team to work faster and reduce risk for the business.

Goodman’s Australian legal team recognized an opportunity to streamline document creation and management.

Goodman’s legal team plays a central role in supporting teams to engage customers, complete builds, and lease properties across Australia. They liaise with external law firms that deal with leasing work and are heavily involved with more specialized projects and transactions.

To draft documents, business teams would use Microsoft Word templates that varied from one version to the next. Without a clause bank or single source of truth, consistency and control across new agreements relied heavily on manual effort. And as the organization scaled, the opportunity to improve how documents were created and managed became more obvious.

Goodman’s legal team wanted to bring more structure and visibility to how documents were created, but they didn’t want to slow anyone down or add more admin. By improving their workflows, the team could deliver more consistent outcomes, speed up turnaround times, and continue to support the business as it expanded.

By introducing Checkbox, Goodman digitalized its legacy processes and gave the legal team and business a faster, more consistent way to draft documents internally.

For Goodman, drafting legal documents was a manual process, requiring drafters to start from a basic template, cross-reference previously agreed terms and clauses, and rework edits. The legal team knew automation could change that. However, they needed a solution that was flexible to handle complex documents, without losing the nuance or control lawyers require. Checkbox delivered on this.

Goodman’s Australian Legal team first introduced Checkbox as part of a broader effort to improve legal processes – with a focus on document generation. The legal team started by automating one of their most complex, business-critical documents: the Heads of Agreement. Checkbox used advanced conditional logic to capture different scenarios, exceptions, and clauses accurately.

What started as a process improvement initiative became a transformative shift in how the legal team delivers value to the business. Business users without a legal background could self‑serve document drafts without training and still met the standard of quality required. Tasks that once required heavy legal oversight now took a fraction of the time.

Checkbox's easy-to-use platform exceeded expectations, requiring minimal change management, and it quickly gained adoption across the business. Consistency became effortless with built-in controls, empowering business users to draft contracts independently, driving efficiency across the organization.

What stood out most to Goodman wasn’t just the technology - it was the team behind it. Checkbox understood their challenges and use cases, collaborating with ease and responding quickly at every step. The legal team sees Checkbox as a partner that listens, problem-solves, and evolves alongside them. The team felt supported, confident, and in control of their transformation.

Why Checkbox?

• Delivered advanced functionality required to automate complex documents with accuracy and ease.
• Ability to build solutions that are user friendly with minimal change management, empowering teams in the organization to draft documents confidently.
• Responsive customer service demonstrating collaboration and a deep understanding of Goodman’s needs.
• Modular flexibility allowing Goodman to adjust, expand, and add new capabilities as the business scales.

With Checkbox, Goodman was able to transform a manual document drafting process into an efficient, streamlined and reliable process that worked for both legal team and the business.

As a result of implementing Checkbox, Goodman’s legal team delivers accurate documents faster.

Checkbox has enabled the team to launch several high-impact apps that have redefined how teams work together internally. For example, one of the most successful apps deployed streamlines the creation of formal instruction letters. By consolidating more than 60 separate precedents into a single automated template, the app eliminates confusion, reduces risk, and enables teams to produce these documents independently - without relying on additional legal support.

Additional apps now cover License Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, and Professional Services Appointments, giving business users a consistent, reliable way to draft contracts, while maintaining quality.

Internal stakeholders now have faster ways to draft documents and engage with the legal team. Adoption is strong, and drafting documents using Checkbox is now viewed as quick and effortless. Importantly, the app owners have established a regular rhythm of review and enhancement with continued value and business alignment. With Checkbox, Goodman has built a scalable foundation that empowers the legal team to lead with efficiency, consistency, and confidence.

"Growing demand for automation reflects the value teams are getting from tools such as Checkbox."

Michelle Ban

Technology Lead - Digital Solutions and Enablement

Digital Transformation

What began as an initiative to streamline document creation has evolved into a blueprint for how technology can enable teams to work smarter, faster, and with greater consistency.

As the benefits of Checkbox’s scalable, user-friendly platform become clear – reducing risk and improving consistency in customer-facing agreements - demand accelerated. Business units across Goodman began approaching the legal team to explore how automation could simplify their processes.

Checkbox has helped demonstrate how technology can drive business efficiencies across Goodman.

The success of Checkbox for the legal team at Goodman has contributed to interest from other parts of the organization. Now, every new process begins with the same question: “How can this be automated down the line?”

Because Checkbox operates as a modular platform, Goodman has the flexibility to expand its automation strategy at its own pace. Document generation was the beginning. The next phase will focus on broader workflow automation, creating a connected ecosystem where the legal team and the business can collaborate and scale impact.

Upcoming initiatives include:

• Extending automation to additional business-critical documents across the organisation.
• Training new people including members of the Technology Centre of Excellence, empowering users to improve processes using Checkbox.
• Building on document generation to automate broader workflows as demand grows.
• Continuing to position the legal team as champions of digital transformation and business efficiency.

Implementing Checkbox has been personally meaningful for Michelle. Leading the initiative has given her the opportunity to shape how digital transformation is embedded across Goodman.

What began as a focused effort to improve efficiency is resulting in new automation projects.  The legal team is proud to champion this transformation.

What Does This Mean for Your Legal Team?

Goodman’s experience highlights how automation can transform the legal function into a business enabler. By starting with document generation, proving value quickly, and scaling from there. For legal teams looking to replicate this success:

• Process — look at every process through the lens of automation.
• Start with the most impactful case — deliver quick wins to prove value and build adoption.
• Educate the business — showcase your team’s role in driving efficiency and digital transformation.
• Scale — use flexible technology to expand from documents to full workflows over time.
• Design for efficiency and experience — consider how tools are configured, with a goal of the most efficient process and best end-user experience.