Prepare a Victorian settlement paper and court-approval issues
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the file, draft a settlement conference paper that records the Victorian serious-injury path, the offer position and whether court approval is required. Do not decide the settlement.
- What the lawyer must review
- Check the serious-injury path and any statutory offer before the paper goes out
- A compromise for a person under disability needs court approval
- The tool writes none of the material filed for that approval
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria: a settlement conference on a Transport Accident Commission common law claim or a WorkSafe common law claim, including a claim by a person under disability
Produce. A conference paper the lawyer can settle before the client receives it.
Have ready. The impairment determination or serious-injury position; The statutory offer and any counter offer, with dates; Whether the claimant is a person under disability.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The draft paper recommends accepting a sum for a claimant who is a child. The lawyer removes the recommendation. The paper records that rule 15.08, as set out on the Funds in Court page, requires the Court's approval, and the lawyer writes any application.
Stop and hand it back when
- The paper recommends a figure or says the approval will be granted.
- The date of the statutory counter offer is missing and the 21-day and 51-day window cannot be counted.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the file, draft a settlement conference paper that records the Victorian serious-injury path, the offer position and whether court approval is required. Do not decide the settlement. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- On a WorkSafe common law matter, the WorkSafe page gives 120 days from receipt for a written response, then a conference, a statutory offer, which may not be an offer of money, and a statutory counter offer. The same page says damages proceedings are not issued earlier than 21 days, or more than 51 days, after the statutory counter offer.
- The Transport Accident Commission policy states that, under the Limitation of Actions Act 1958, an action for damages is brought within 6 years of the date of the injury, or within 6 years of a minor turning 18, and that the Commission usually maintains a limitations defence. Section 93(19) says that, for that Act, the cause of action arises on the day of the transport accident or on the day the injury first manifests itself.
- Where a claim is made by or on behalf of or against a person under disability, the Funds in Court page sets out rule 15.08 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025: a compromise, a payment of money, or acceptance of an Order 26 offer is not valid, so far as it relates to that claim, without the approval of the Court. The page says a similar or identical provision appears in the County Court Rules and the Magistrates' Court Rules. Those texts were not opened.
- The Funds in Court page states that the central consideration is whether acceptance is outweighed by the possibility of a better outcome at trial. The tool does not make that comparison.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offer of compromise in personal injury proceedings (UCPR r 20.26, NSW), with covering letter | Notice | AI use Yellow | Plaintiff's or defendant's formal offer of compromise under r 20.26 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), with the mandatory contents, the acceptance period, and a covering letter explaining the indemnity costs consequences under rr 42.14 and 42.15. |
| Deed of release for a personal injury damages claim | Deed | AI use Yellow | Deed of release for a personal injury damages claim in Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales, conditional on sanction or approval where the claimant cannot give a binding release. |
| Mandatory final offer under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) | Notice | AI use Yellow | The claimant's mandatory final offer under sections 39 and 40 of the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld). |
| Offer of compromise in a personal injury proceeding (Order 26, Victoria) | Notice | AI use Yellow | Plaintiff offer of compromise for a Victorian personal injury claim. |
| Settlement advice letter before a personal injury release is signed | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter to the injured person before a personal injury settlement is signed, with blanks for the lawyer's view on liability, the ranges, the recommendation, and the costs figures required before settlement. |
| Mandatory final offer under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) | Notice | AI use Yellow | The claimant's mandatory final offer under section 51C of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld). |
| Offer to settle a personal injury proceeding (UCPR rr 353, 355, 357 and 360, Queensland) | Notice | AI use Yellow | Plaintiff offer to settle a Queensland personal injury proceeding under UCPR r 353. |
| Authority to accept a personal injury settlement | Letter | AI use Yellow | Written instructions from a client who can give them, authorising the firm to accept a stated personal injury settlement after the advice letter. |
| Without-prejudice Calderbank letter (Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales) | Letter | AI use Yellow | A without-prejudice letter offering to settle a personal injury claim, with a statement that the plaintiff will rely on it on costs if the offer is not accepted. |
| Medicare compensation recovery checklist before settling a personal injury claim | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Checklist for Medicare compensation recovery when a personal injury claim settles or goes to judgment: the $5,000 threshold, the notice of past benefits (form MO026), the payer's 28-day notice, and no release of money to the client until the Commonwealth is paid. |
| Written final offer for a Queensland WorkCover damages claim (s 292) | Notice | AI use Yellow | The claimant's written final offer under section 292 of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). |
| Law practice certificate for a Queensland CTP claim (MAIC) | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the MAIC law practice certificate page. |
| Mediation position paper in a personal injury claim | Memo | AI use Yellow | A working outline for the plaintiff's mediation position paper in a personal injury claim. |
| Settlement offer and assessment-conference paper for a NSW motor accident damages claim | Letter | AI use Yellow | The claimant's written settlement offer on a damages claim under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), and a short paper for the Commission assessment conference. |
| Settlement distribution statement for a personal injury claim | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Statement the client receives showing the gross personal injury settlement, the costs, the disbursements and the statutory amounts the lawyer has sourced, and the resulting net sum. |
| Mediation paper and final offer for a NSW work injury damages claim | Memo | AI use Yellow | The worker's statement of issues for a Personal Injury Commission mediation of a work injury damages claim, and the final offer recorded if the claim does not settle. |
| Index for a personal injury settlement conference brief | Checklist | AI use Yellow | An index of the solicitor's brief for a settlement conference or mediation in a personal injury claim, with the attendance rules taken from the practice notes that were opened. |
| Checklist for setting aside an earlier settlement of a child-abuse claim | Checklist | AI use Yellow | A lawyer's list of the statutory grounds for asking a court to set aside an earlier settlement of a child-abuse claim in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. |
| Form 5C: commutation determination for a legally incapacitated worker | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the Personal Injury Commission's Form 5C for a commutation determination where the worker is legally incapacitated, including the SIRA certificate the form requires. |
| TAC common law application form (Common Law Protocol 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form used after a proactive or fast track serious injury grant, which must be sent before a common law conference is arranged. |
| Conference paper and offer under the TAC Common Law Protocol 2026 | Memo | AI use Yellow | The client's paper and written offer for a serious injury conference or a common law damages conference under the TAC Common Law Protocol 2026. |
| Matter closure checklist | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Closing a plaintiff injury file: the settlement costs disclosure was given before execution, the bill, scheme steps, tool copies, trust money, and a risk assessment before any destruction. |
| Statutory counter offer before a Victorian serious injury damages proceeding | Letter | AI use Yellow | The worker's statutory counter offer under section 333 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic). |
| Settlement sanction for a person under a legal disability (District Court PD 6 of 2018) | Form | AI use Red | Link to District Court Practice Direction 6 of 2018, which applies Supreme Court Practice Direction 15 of 2018, paragraphs 3 to 12, and annexes a Form 59 order. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- WorkSafe Victoria: Common law claim for damages · 2026-10-23
- Transport Accident Commission: Common law time limits · 2026-10-23
- Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic) s 93, actions for damages · 2026-10-23
- Funds in Court: Approvals of compromise · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of Victoria: Practice Note SC GEN 25, use of artificial intelligence by court users · 2026-10-23
Any material filed in support of an approval is outside this task. The tool writes none of it. If that material is a court document, Practice Note SC GEN 25 or the County Court practice note of 9 June 2026 requires the lawyer to verify it.
The Limitation of Actions Act 1958 itself was not opened. The six-year statements are the Transport Accident Commission policy's account of that Act.