Total paid care without applying the Queensland gratuitous-services test
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Total the paid care invoices the lawyer accepts. Do not apply the section 59 hours-and-months test, and do not apply an hourly cap, to a paid invoice.
- What the lawyer must review
- Paid invoices sit outside section 59
- Do not apply the six-hour and six-month test to a paid invoice
- Section 52B may still bar a participant's care damages
- Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Check ASCR r 9, APP 11 and Privacy Act notification
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland damages for paid care, outside Civil Liability Act section 59
Produce. A total of the paid care invoices the lawyer accepts, with a note that section 59 was not applied.
Have ready. The invoices the lawyer accepts; Whether the lawyer says the person is a scheme participant, or that section 5 applies.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The total adds the paid invoices. It does not drop an invoice because the care was under six hours a week.
Stop and hand it back when
- An invoice is unpaid and the lawyer has not said it is gratuitous care.
- The person may be a scheme participant and section 52B has not been considered by the lawyer.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| 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 is about gratuitous services to the injured person: services that are necessary, that arise solely out of the injury, and that meet the threshold of at least six hours a week and at least six months. It does not set an hourly earnings cap.
- A paid invoice is not a gratuitous service. Do not apply the section 59 threshold, and do not apply any hourly cap, to it.
- Section 52B can bar damages for treatment, care and support needs that result from a personal injury in a motor accident and arise while the person is or was a participant in the insurance scheme in relation to a serious personal injury from that accident. It is subject to section 52C, which was not opened. Apply it only where the lawyer says it is in play.
- Section 5(1)(b) takes the Act out of deciding liability or awards of damages for an injury for which compensation is payable under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, other than an injury to which section 34(1)(c) or section 35 of that Act applies. Section 5(2) says it is immaterial whether compensation is claimed and whether the damages entitlement is regulated under that Act. Sections 34(1)(c) and 35 were not opened. The total is still only the invoices the lawyer accepts.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 59 · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 52B · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) section 5 · 2026-10-23
Section 59(2) and section 59(3), about services of the same kind before the breach and about offsets, were not used, because the invoices are paid care.
Wage, tax and 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).