---
title: "Work out the Victorian uplift cap on a personal injury costs agreement"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/work-out-the-cap-on-what-may-be-charged-for-a-speculative-personal-injur/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A42-CS20261023-2-VIC"
practice_area: "Costs, billing & litigation funding"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Work out the Victorian uplift cap on a personal injury costs agreement

> From the fees and any protocol price point the lawyer marks, set out the proposed professional fees, the uplift, and the disbursements. Do not state the amount the client must pay.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/work-out-the-cap-on-what-may-be-charged-for-a-speculative-personal-injur/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 fees and any protocol price point the lawyer marks, set out the proposed professional fees, the uplift, and the disbursements. Do not state the amount the client must pay. |
| What the lawyer must review | On a litigious matter, apply the 25 per cent cap to legal costs, excluding disbursements. Do not use a half-of-settlement cap. None was in the sections opened. If the TAC protocol applies, use the price point for the settlement date. Do not state a net sum until the inputs are checked. |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Work out the cap on what may be charged for a speculative personal injury claim](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/costs-billing-and-litigation-funding/work-out-the-cap-on-what-may-be-charged-for-a-speculative-personal-injur.md) |

## Checking plan

**Victorian uplift cap**

The tool sets out the fees and the uplift. The lawyer applies the 25 per cent cap and any protocol price point.

- What the AI does: From the fees and any protocol price point the lawyer marks, set out the proposed professional fees, the uplift, and the disbursements. Do not state the amount the client must pay.
- What the lawyer does: Apply the cap and decide whether a protocol price point, rather than the agreement alone, limits what is recovered.
- 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. On a litigious matter, the uplift does not exceed 25 per cent of the legal costs excluding disbursements.
2. Where the conditional costs agreement relates to a litigious matter, section 182(2) requires the law practice to have a reasonable belief that a successful outcome is reasonably likely. The section does not require that success was in fact reasonably likely.
3. Disbursements are outside the uplift percentage.
4. A TAC protocol price point is what the TAC pays on a protocol common law settlement. It is not a cap of half the client's settlement.

## Notes

- No cap of half the settlement was in the Uniform Law sections opened.
- The protocol price-point dollar schedule was not opened. The lawyer uses the schedule current at the date of final common law settlement.
- 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. Legal Profession Uniform Law, and the TAC Common Law Protocol 2026 where it applies.

**Deliverable**: A worked uplift check, with each input tagged to the figure the lawyer marked.

**Inputs**

- Proposed professional fees
- Proposed uplift
- Whether the TAC protocol applies

**Example**: Illustrative example: The proposed uplift is 25 per cent of fees plus disbursements. The lawyer removes the disbursements from the percentage before comparing it with section 182.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The calculation treats disbursements as part of the 25 per cent.
- A half-of-settlement figure is presented as a Victorian statutory cap.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [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)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) s 183, contingency fees prohibited](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/lpul333/s183.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [TAC Common Law Protocol 2026, chapter 19](https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/providers/resources/tac-protocols-tabs/common-law-protocol) (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.*