Disclose New South Wales legal costs under the Uniform Law
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the scope and the estimate the lawyer names, draft a section 174 disclosure of the basis of charging and the total-costs estimate, and list the rights in section 174(2). Mark any figure the lawyer has not supplied.
- What the lawyer must review
- Give the disclosure when, or as soon as practicable after, instructions
- Check the estimate and the client's understanding and consent
- Disclose a significant change, including its impact on the costs payable
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 Uniform Law (NSW)
Produce. A draft section 174 costs disclosure with unset figures marked.
Have ready. Matter scope; Estimate the lawyer names; Firm disclosure precedent.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: Instructions were taken yesterday and the lawyer has named an estimate. The draft uses that estimate and the section 174 rights. The lawyer checks it before it is given to the client.
Stop and hand it back when
- The lawyer has not named an estimate.
- A significant change has occurred and the earlier disclosure is being reused unchanged.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the scope and the estimate the lawyer names, draft a section 174 disclosure of the basis of charging and the total-costs estimate, and list the rights in section 174(2). Mark any figure the lawyer has not supplied. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Disclose under section 174(1) when or as soon as practicable after instructions are initially given, and again after any significant change.
- Include the rights to negotiate a costs agreement and the billing method, to receive a bill and request an itemised bill, and to seek the help of the designated local regulatory authority.
- A change disclosure must include enough information about the impact on legal costs for an informed decision about future conduct.
- Take all reasonable steps to be satisfied the client has understood and consented to the proposed course of action.
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. |
| Who pays records, experts and barristers | Letter | AI use Yellow | A letter saying who pays for records, expert reports and a barrister if the claim fails, and that interest on a disbursement loan is outside D in the Queensland section 347 definition. |
| Opening costs estimate worksheet | Checklist | AI use Yellow | An internal worksheet for the figures that go into the first costs disclosure. |
| Disclosure to an associated third party payer, and of another law practice | Letter | AI use Yellow | Written disclosure to an associated third party payer of the costs that payer must pay, and a separate disclosure to the client of the costs of a barrister or other law practice the firm will retain. |
| Progress report of legal costs incurred | Letter | AI use Yellow | Written report, given without charge on a reasonable request, of the legal costs incurred to date or since the last bill, with the figures taken from the ledger. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Legal Profession Uniform Law s 174, disclosure obligations of a law practice · 2026-10-23
- Legal Profession Uniform Law s 177, disclosure before settlement of a litigious matter · 2026-10-23
Section 177 is a further disclosure if the matter later settles. It is not a substitute for section 174.
The client receives this disclosure. Practice Note SC Gen 23 applies if a court document is later prepared from the same file.