---
title: "Disclose Victorian legal costs under the Uniform Law"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/draft-a-costs-disclosure-from-the-matter-scope-and-the-scale-or-estimate/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A42-T1-R1-VIC"
practice_area: "Costs, billing & litigation funding"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Disclose Victorian legal costs under the Uniform Law

> From the scope and the estimate the lawyer names, draft a disclosure that states the basis of charging and the total-costs estimate, and list the section 174(2) rights still to be completed from the firm precedent.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/draft-a-costs-disclosure-from-the-matter-scope-and-the-scale-or-estimate/victoria  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Costs, billing & litigation funding](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the scope and the estimate the lawyer names, draft a disclosure that states the basis of charging and the total-costs estimate, and list the section 174(2) rights still to be completed from the firm precedent. Mark any figure the lawyer has not supplied. |
| What the lawyer must review | Confirm section 174 applies and give the disclosure when, or as soon as practicable after, instructions Check the estimate and that the client understands and consents to the course of action Update the disclosure if there is a significant change |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Draft a costs disclosure from the matter scope and the scale or estimate](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/draft-a-costs-disclosure-from-the-matter-scope-and-the-scale-or-estimate.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Section 174 requires disclosure of the basis of charging and an estimate of total legal costs when or as soon as practicable after instructions, plus the client's rights.

- What the AI does: From the scope and the estimate the lawyer names, draft a disclosure that states the basis of charging and the total-costs estimate, and list the section 174(2) rights still to be completed from the firm precedent. Mark any figure the lawyer has not supplied.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer fixes the estimate, decides that section 174 applies, and gives the disclosure to the client.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Section 174(1) requires the basis on which legal costs will be calculated and an estimate of the total legal costs, when or as soon as practicable after instructions.
2. Include the section 174(2) rights: to negotiate a costs agreement, to negotiate the billing method, to receive a bill and request an itemised bill, and to seek the help of the designated local regulatory authority.
3. A significant change must be disclosed, with enough information about the impact on legal costs for the client to decide the future conduct of the matter.
4. The practice must take all reasonable steps to be satisfied the client has understood and consented to the proposed course of action.

## Notes

- The section text opened is the Legal Profession Uniform Law compilation. Victoria applies that Uniform Law. Confirm the Victorian application instrument.
- The client signs or receives this disclosure. It is not a document filed in court.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Legal Profession Uniform Law as applied in Victoria

**Deliverable**: A draft costs disclosure for the client, with unset figures marked.

**Inputs**

- Matter scope
- Estimate or scale the lawyer names
- Firm disclosure precedent

**Example**: Illustrative example: The lawyer names an estimate for a personal injury claim. The draft states that estimate, the basis of charging, and the section 174 rights. It marks the billing interval as not yet instructed. The lawyer checks the client's understanding before the disclosure is given.

**Stop and escalate when**

- No estimate has been named by the lawyer.
- The matter may be outside section 174 and the exception has not been checked.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Legal Profession Uniform Law s 174, disclosure obligations of a law practice](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s174.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law s 177, disclosure before settlement of a litigious matter](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s177.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [New matter checklist](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/firm-new-matter-checklist.md) | Checklist | 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](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/qld-speculative-personal-injury-costs-agreement.md) | Agreement | Yellow | A Queensland conditional costs agreement for a speculative personal injury claim, where fees are not worked out from the settlement.… |
| [Engagement letter with a generative AI clause (United States)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/us-engagement-letter-generative-ai.md) | Letter | Yellow | Engagement letter stating the scope and the basis of the fee, and separating ordinary generative-AI use from any input of information relating to the representation, which needs a completed tool… |
| [Who pays records, experts and barristers](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/disbursement-and-funding-disclosure.md) | Letter | 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](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/opening-costs-estimate-worksheet.md) | Checklist | Yellow | An internal worksheet for the figures that go into the first costs disclosure. It is not the later significant-change letter, and it is not a comparison of a draft bill. |
| [Letter when a flat fee should change because a tool did the work (United States)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/us-flat-fee-change-after-gai-use.md) | Letter | Yellow | A letter telling the client that a flat fee may no longer be reasonable because a generative AI tool has reduced the work, and asking agreement to a revised amount before further work is billed that… |
| [Disclosure to an associated third party payer, and of another law practice](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/associated-payer-and-counsel-disclosure.md) | Letter | 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](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/progress-report-of-costs.md) | Letter | 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.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*