---
title: "Explain what a Victorian client pays if a personal injury claim does not succeed"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/explain-what-the-client-pays-if-a-personal-injury-claim-does-not-succeed/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A42-CS20261023-12-VIC"
practice_area: "Costs, billing & litigation funding"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Explain what a Victorian client pays if a personal injury claim does not succeed

> From the costs agreement the lawyer has settled, draft a short letter on whether fees and any uplift are payable, whether disbursements remain payable, and that the other side's costs may be payable. Do not send it.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/explain-what-the-client-pays-if-a-personal-injury-claim-does-not-succeed/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 costs agreement the lawyer has settled, draft a short letter on whether fees and any uplift are payable, whether disbursements remain payable, and that the other side's costs may be payable. Do not send it. |
| What the lawyer must review | Settle the letter against the successful-outcome clause. State disbursements as still payable only if the agreement says so. Include a lender repayment only where a facility exists. Do not use the 60 to 75 per cent description in this letter. |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Explain what the client pays if a personal injury claim does not succeed](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/explain-what-the-client-pays-if-a-personal-injury-claim-does-not-succeed.md) |

## Checking plan

**Victorian costs if the claim fails**

The tool drafts the letter from the settled agreement. The lawyer checks every amount that may still be payable.

- What the AI does: From the costs agreement the lawyer has settled, draft a short letter on whether fees and any uplift are payable, whether disbursements remain payable, and that the other side's costs may be payable. Do not send it.
- What the lawyer does: Approve the letter before the client receives it.
- 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. The regulator says no win, no fee does not mean there is nothing to pay if the client loses.
2. The lawyer can charge disbursements paid on the client's behalf. Sometimes the client must pay a proportion of the other side's legal costs.
3. A litigation lender is repaid with interest and/or a premium.
4. Where the agreement makes the costs conditional on success and that outcome does not occur, the uplift is not payable. That follows from section 181 and from the regulator's statement that an uplift is payable only if the case is won. The 60 to 75 per cent description is about costs when the client succeeds.

## Notes

- Section 181(6) allows the agreement to make disbursements payable irrespective of the outcome. The letter follows the agreement.
- Keep medical details in the firm's system. Apply ASCR rule 9 and APP 11, and check whether a Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) breach is notifiable.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Victoria. A conditional personal injury retainer, explained to the client if the claim does not succeed.

**Deliverable**: A short letter for the lawyer to settle.

**Inputs**

- The settled costs agreement
- Whether a litigation lender was used
- The disbursements paid

**Example**: Illustrative example: The draft says the client pays nothing if the claim fails. The agreement makes disbursements payable anyway. The lawyer rewrites the letter to match the agreement.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The letter contradicts the signed agreement.
- The 60 to 75 per cent figure is used as the client's exposure on a loss.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, 'no win – no fee' cost agreements](https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/consumers/legal-costs-and-billing/no-win-no-fee-cost-agreements) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 181, conditional costs agreements](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s181.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 182, uplift fees](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s182.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

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