Check gratuitous services against the Queensland six-hour threshold
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the care schedule the lawyer supplies, test services provided to the injured person against section 59 and leave the hours and the duration blank for the lawyer. Do not value the care. Section 59A is a different claim.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether the services are necessary and arise solely from the injury
- Apply the 6 hours a week and 6 months tests, and section 59(2) if the same services were provided before the breach
- Check section 5 and section 52B before including this head
- The lawyer values the care and writes any schedule that will be served
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland claim for damages for gratuitous services to which section 59 applies
Produce. A comparison of the lawyer's care schedule with the section 59 conditions, without a value.
Have ready. The care schedule the lawyer supplies, with hours and period; Whether the same kind of services were provided before the breach; Whether section 5 or section 52B may apply.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The schedule shows 4 hours a week for a year. The draft marks the hour test as not met and leaves the value blank. The lawyer decides whether other weeks change that result.
Stop and hand it back when
- The hours or the period are not in the schedule.
- The claim may be section 59A, a work injury, or a NIISQ participant's treatment, care and support.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the care schedule the lawyer supplies, test services provided to the injured person against section 59 and leave the hours and the duration blank for the lawyer. Do not value the care. Section 59A is a different claim. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 59(1) bars damages for gratuitous services provided to an injured person unless the services are necessary, the need arises solely out of the injury, and the services are or will be provided for at least 6 hours per week and for at least 6 months.
- Section 59(2) bars damages if gratuitous services of the same kind were being provided before the breach. Section 59(3) requires the court to take account of any offsetting benefit and of time in hospital or another institution.
- Section 59A is loss of the injured person's capacity to provide gratuitous domestic services to someone else. Do not run that claim through the section 59 table.
- Section 5 can take a work injury or a dust-related condition outside the Act. Section 52B can bar treatment, care and support damages for a NIISQ participant after a motor accident. The lawyer checks both.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule of damages for a personal injury claim | Court document | AI use Yellow | Heads of damage for a plaintiff claim, with the Victorian, Queensland and New South Wales limits, in a form that can be adapted to a Queensland statement of loss and damage. |
| Care schedule: gratuitous and paid care | Court document | AI use Yellow | A schedule of care given because of an injury, with the hours, duration and rate tests in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, and a separate section for loss of capacity to care for dependants. |
| Letter of instruction to an occupational therapist on care | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an occupational therapist to record care hours, duration, paid and gratuitous help, aids and equipment, without applying a damages threshold or valuing the claim. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 59 · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 59A · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 52B · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 5 · 2026-10-23
Section 5(3) says the Act still applies to section 59A damages for a dust-related condition or a smoking injury. It does not say that about section 59.
Section 57 uses a prescribed discount rate for a lump sum for future gratuitous services. The lawyer confirms the rate. See the future-loss version.
Care records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Apply ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and consider whether a breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).