No win, no fee in Queensland: how injury lawyers charge without a contingency percentage
A US injury lawyer who signs a client to a one-third contingency fee could not use that agreement in Queensland, Australia. Section 325 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) bars a law practice from charging fees calculated as a share of the damages a client recovers. Queensland injury firms still take cases on a “no win, no fee” basis. The arrangement works differently, and the differences show up most when a claim fails.
For readers used to US contingency fee explainers, the questions are the same ones you’d ask at home: what do you owe if you win, and what do you owe if you lose?
Add LawBhoomi as your preferred source on Google.
How Queensland lawyers get paid on injury claims
Queensland firms use a conditional costs agreement instead of a percentage. The lawyer charges for the work done, usually at hourly or itemized rates, and the client pays those fees only if the claim succeeds. The Act allows the firm to add an uplift fee for the risk of not being paid, capped at 25% of the legal costs. The 25% is measured against the fees and has no link to the size of the damages.
That means the fee follows the work. A claim that settles early for a large sum can cost less in fees than a smaller claim that runs to trial.
Most work and public place injury claims also go through a pre-court stage. The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 and the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 each require a notice of claim and a compulsory conference before court proceedings start, and road claims follow a similar process under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994. Many claims settle at that conference. Some end there without a payout, and a firm’s terms can treat a loss at that stage differently from a loss at trial.
What no win, no fee covers in Queensland
In the US, a contingency fee means the lawyer collects nothing unless there is a recovery, and ABA Model Rule 1.5(c) requires the written agreement to tell the client which expenses they must pay whether or not they win. The Australian phrase “no win, no fee” makes the same promise about fees. On its face it says nothing about expenses.
Discover the latest legal jobs and career openings.
Many Australian firms advertise no win, no fee, but the label on its own does not say who pays the expenses of running a claim if it fails. Under some agreements a client who loses owes no professional fees but still owes outlays, such as medical reports and court filing fees, so the written costs agreement matters more than the slogan. Smiths Lawyers says its No Win, No Fee, No Catch® promise means no legal fees or expenses if a case loses in court. Smith’s Lawyers was founded in 1996 and works only in compensation law, handling injury claims in Queensland and superannuation TPD claims.
Fees versus outlays
Professional fees pay for the lawyer’s time. Outlays, which Australian lawyers also call disbursements, are money paid to someone else to move the claim forward: specialist medical reports, hospital records, filing fees and sometimes barristers’ fees. In an injury claim the medical-legal reports are often the biggest outlay, because insurers usually want an independent assessment of the client’s impairment before they settle.
Firms handle outlays in different ways. Some pay them as the claim runs and recover them from the settlement. Others ask the client to pay as they fall due, or to take out a litigation loan. A client who loses under the second kind of agreement can owe thousands of dollars to doctors and lenders even though their own lawyer charges nothing.
The 50/50 rule on a successful claim
When a claim succeeds, section 347 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) caps what the firm can charge. The firm’s legal costs, plus related amounts such as interest on a disbursement loan it recommended, cannot exceed half of what is left after refunds and outlays are deducted from the settlement or judgment. Refunds are amounts the client must repay out of the payout, such as Centrelink benefits and Medicare costs (Australia’s welfare and public health systems).
Take a hypothetical A$300,000 settlement. If A$40,000 goes back as refunds and A$20,000 covered outlays, A$240,000 remains. The firm’s costs are capped at A$120,000, so the client keeps at least A$120,000. A firm can apply to the Queensland Law Society for approval to charge more, but without that approval the cap applies in full. It is a maximum, and a firm can charge less.
Adverse costs if a claim fails at trial
US plaintiffs work under the American rule, where each side usually pays its own lawyers. Australia follows the loser-pays rule. A plaintiff who loses at trial can be ordered to pay a large part of the defendant’s legal costs.
A no win, no fee agreement governs what a client owes their own lawyer. It does not bind the court or the insurer. Check whether the agreement says anything about an adverse costs order and whether the firm will meet one. If the agreement is silent, assume the client carries that risk.
Questions to ask before signing
1. If the claim fails, do I owe anything for outlays, and does the answer change if it fails before court or at trial? 2. Who pays outlays while the claim runs, and does any loan or interest apply? 3. What uplift fee and hourly rates apply? 4. If I lose at trial and the court orders me to pay the other side’s costs, who pays?
Explore the latest legal opportunities for law students and lawyers.
The Act also requires Queensland firms to give clients written costs disclosure at the start of a matter. The answers to these questions belong in that document.
This article provides general information about Queensland law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Anyone with a Queensland injury claim should speak to a lawyer admitted in Queensland.
Join LawBhoomi’s 100K+ Community
