Check a Queensland conditional costs agreement, uplift and section 347 cap
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the draft, mark writing, plain language, the successful outcome, the client's signature, the independent-advice statement, cooling-off of at least five clear business days, and any uplift as a percentage of legal costs excluding disbursements, using only the lawyer's figures for E, R and D. Do not apply the section 347 formula or decide that the uplift is permitted.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether a conditional agreement is allowed, and whether the client is a sophisticated client
- Cap any litigious uplift at 25 per cent under section 324
- For a speculative personal injury claim, check the section 347 maximum before the fee is agreed
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld)
Produce. A marked-up conditional costs agreement and a section 347 worksheet with the lawyer's figures.
Have ready. Draft agreement; Lawyer's E, R and D figures if the claim is speculative personal injury; Whether the client is a sophisticated client.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The draft uplift is 25 per cent of professional fees. The worksheet records that figure and leaves E, R and D blank until the lawyer supplies them. It does not treat half of a guessed settlement as the agreed fee.
Stop and hand it back when
- The claim is speculative personal injury and E, R and D have not been considered.
- The uplift exceeds 25 per cent of legal costs excluding disbursements.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the draft, mark writing, plain language, the successful outcome, the client's signature, the independent-advice statement, cooling-off of at least five clear business days, and any uplift as a percentage of legal costs excluding disbursements, using only the lawyer's figures for E, R and D. Do not apply the section 347 formula or decide that the uplift is permitted. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 323 excludes criminal proceedings and Family Law Act 1975 proceedings. Signature, the independent-advice statement and cooling-off do not apply to a sophisticated client or to an agreement of the kind in section 322(1)(c).
- Section 324: the uplift basis must be identified separately. A litigious uplift must not exceed 25 per cent of the legal costs, excluding disbursements, otherwise payable. If fees are discounted, the reference is to the undiscounted fees.
- Section 347 caps claim-related costs, inclusive of GST, at the formula amount. The official formula image is (E minus (R plus D)) multiplied by 0.5. E, R and D are defined in the section.
- A greater amount needs a written application to the bar association if the practice is a barrister, otherwise to the law society. The section notes the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 section 79 and the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 section 71E.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| New matter checklist | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Checklist for opening a plaintiff injury file: identity, conflicts, the diary, costs disclosure, authorities, and consent before health records go into a tool. |
| Queensland speculative personal injury costs agreement | Agreement | AI use Yellow | A Queensland conditional costs agreement for a speculative personal injury claim, where fees are not worked out from the settlement. |
| Cooling-off letter for a conditional costs agreement | Letter | AI use Yellow | A letter telling the client they can end a conditional costs agreement by written notice in a cooling-off period of at least five clear business days, and what may be charged if they do. |
| Letter when the retainer ends | Letter | AI use Yellow | A letter when the firm stops acting, setting out any costs still sought. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 323, conditional costs agreements · 2026-10-23
- Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 324, conditional costs agreements involving uplift fees · 2026-10-23
- Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 347, maximum for a speculative personal injury claim · 2026-10-23
Section 347 is an upper limit. It is not a method for calculating the fee.
The client signs the agreement. Do not treat the formula image as a substitute for reading the defined terms of E, R and D.