Personal Injury Lawyers in Australia

What is a personal injury claim?

A personal injury claim is a request for compensation for physical or psychological harm caused by an accident, by someone’s negligence, or by a risk that a scheme covers regardless of fault. Compensation can pay for treatment, replace lost income, fund care and, where the law allows, recognise pain and suffering.

Australia has no single personal injury law. Each state and territory runs its own schemes and courts, and the Commonwealth covers federal employees. Three broad pathways exist:

• No-fault statutory benefits. Compulsory third party (CTP) motor accident schemes and workers compensation pay treatment and income support without proving anyone was negligent. Deadlines to lodge are short, often three to six months.
• Common law damages. A lump sum for negligence, usually with thresholds. In New South Wales a work injury damages claim needs at least 15% permanent impairment for a physical injury, and damages for non-economic loss in most negligence claims need severity of at least 15% of a most extreme case.
• Insurance benefits. Total and permanent disability (TPD) cover inside superannuation pays a lump sum if you meet the policy’s definition, whoever was at fault.

Most people are in more than one pathway at once. An injured worker hurt in a company vehicle may have a workers compensation claim, a CTP claim and TPD cover. Sorting out which applies is the first job.

Which type of claim applies to you?

The scheme depends on where the injury happened and who was involved, not on the injury itself. Use the table to find your starting point, then read the guide for that claim type.

The injury itself still matters. Our guides to back, neck, whiplash, head, brain and spinal injuries explain the impairment thresholds and evidence that each one raises.

How the helpline works and who acts for you

Australian Claim Helpline is a free, Australia-wide enquiry service based in Gordon, New South Wales. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Here is what happens when you call 1300 144 878 or use the free claim check:

1. You tell us what happened. Where, when, who was involved and how you have been affected. No documents are needed.
2. We identify the pathway. Using the answers, we work out which scheme and which state’s rules apply and whether a deadline is close.
3. With your consent, we refer you. If legal help would be useful, we pass your details to an independent personal injury lawyer who acts for you under their own written costs agreement.
4. You decide. Nothing is lodged and no one is appointed until you agree to it. An enquiry does not lodge a claim or pause a time limit.

Enquiries are handled by <!-- TODO: owner to supply LEGAL_ENTITY_NAME and ABN --> a legal entity to be confirmed by the owner. The lawyers who receive referrals are independent practices. Any referral fee or benefit is disclosed to you by that practice, as the law requires, and you are free to choose any other lawyer.

What does No Win No Fee really mean?

No Win No Fee means the lawyer’s professional fees are only payable if your claim succeeds. It is a conditional costs agreement, and the details are set by the written terms, not the slogan. Three things usually sit outside it:

• Disbursements. Medical reports, court filing fees and expert fees may still be payable, sometimes as you go.
• Uplift fees. Some agreements add a percentage to the fee if the claim succeeds. Ask whether one applies and how it is calculated.
• The other side’s costs. If a court claim fails, you may be ordered to pay some of the defendant’s costs unless the agreement or an insurer covers that risk.

Before you sign, ask these questions and get the answers in writing: What counts as a win? What happens if I stop the claim? What do I pay if I lose? How will you estimate total costs, and when will you update the estimate? Our blog post on the questions to ask before you sign a No Win No Fee agreement walks through each one, and the No Win No Fee guide explains the arrangement in full.

How long do you have? Time limits by state and territory

Two clocks run at once. The limitation period is the deadline to start a court claim. The scheme deadline is the much shorter time to lodge a no-fault claim or give notice. Miss the scheme deadline and you can lose benefits even though the court deadline has not passed. The table lists the general rules; each has exceptions for children, late discovery and reasonable excuses.

Public liability and medical negligence claims follow the court limitation period in the first column, but Queensland also requires a pre-court notice: Part 1 of the notice of claim within 9 months of the incident or 1 month after first instructing a lawyer (Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 s 9). Federal employees claim through Comcare under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Comcare).

How is compensation assessed?

Compensation is built from heads of damage, and the scheme decides which heads are open and how they are capped. The main heads are:

• Medical and treatment expenses, past and future.
• Economic loss: lost wages so far and reduced earning capacity in the future.
• Care and assistance: paid or unpaid help with daily tasks.
• Non-economic loss: pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Thresholds decide whether some heads are available at all. In New South Wales no damages for non-economic loss are awarded in a negligence claim unless the severity is at least 15% of a most extreme case (Civil Liability Act 2002 s 16), and a CTP claimant whose only injuries are threshold injuries stops receiving weekly payments after 52 weeks (MAIA 2017 s 3.11). In Victoria a negligence claimant needs a “significant injury”: more than 5% whole person impairment for most physical injuries, 5% or more for spinal injuries and 10% or more for psychiatric injury (Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria). Queensland scores general damages on an injury scale value from 0 to 100 (Civil Liability Act 2003). South Australia requires an injury scale value of 8 or more before future economic loss is paid in a CTP claim (CTP Insurance Regulator).

For an indicative range built from these heads, use the compensation calculator. It is a guide to help you plan, not a valuation, and our damages guide explains each head in more depth.

What to prepare before you call

You do not need documents to make an enquiry, but the following will make the first conversation more useful:

• Dates. When the accident happened, when symptoms started and when you first saw a doctor.
• People and places. Who was involved, where it happened and who controlled the place.
• Reports. A police event number, an incident report at work or a complaint reference.
• Treatment. Which clinicians you have seen and any certificates of capacity.
• Work. Your employer, your role and any time off.
• Insurance. Whether you have TPD cover in super or income protection.

Keep photographs, receipts and correspondence in one place. Do not send medical records, identity documents or bank details through the website; a secure method is agreed later if they are needed.

What happens after you call

One of our specialists calls you back at a time that suits you, within the calling hours allowed in Australia. The call takes about ten minutes. You will be asked to confirm the basics, and we will tell you which pathway looks relevant and whether any deadline is close.

If a lawyer would help, we explain who we would refer you to and why. The lawyer contacts you directly, assesses the claim and, if they take it on, sends a written costs agreement before any work starts. You can stop at any point. If a lawyer is not the right next step, we will say so and point you to the scheme, the insurer or the complaints body instead.

Nothing on this page is legal advice. Rules, thresholds and dollar caps change, so confirm the current position for your state before you rely on it. If you think a deadline is close, call rather than wait.

Frequently asked questions