---
title: "Conditional (no win, no fee) costs agreement and costs disclosure for personal injury claims (Uniform Law states)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/no-win-no-fee-costs-agreement"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a21-no-win-no-fee-costs-agreement"
area_id: "A21"
kind: "agreement"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-17"
---

# Conditional (no win, no fee) costs agreement and costs disclosure for personal injury claims (Uniform Law states)

> Conditional costs agreement and disclosure for personal injury damages claims in NSW, Victoria and WA: defines success, sets rates and any uplift within the 25% cap, explains disbursements, cooling-off, statutory caps…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/no-win-no-fee-costs-agreement  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-17

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Conditional costs agreement and disclosure for personal injury damages claims in NSW, Victoria and WA: defines success, sets rates and any uplift within the 25% cap, explains disbursements, cooling-off, statutory caps and what the client pays.

## Key facts

- Kind: Agreement. A contract between two or more parties.
- Practice area: [Personal Injury & Compensation](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation.md)
- Jurisdictions: New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-17
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-17 against the 6 authorities it cites, for 4 jurisdictions.

## When to use it

Use for a personal injury damages claim where the firm will be paid only if the claim succeeds. Do not use for criminal or family law matters, for NSW CTP or workers compensation statutory benefits where charging is restricted, or in Queensland without the Queensland changes.

## How AI may be used

AI may draft the costs estimate narrative and fill the schedule from the lawyer's estimate, but disclosure thresholds, uplift limits, statutory caps and the client's informed consent are for the lawyer.

**AI may:**

- Turn the lawyer's estimate worksheet into the estimate table and plain-English explanation.
- Check the draft against the statutory checklist in the drafting notes and list anything missing.
- Produce a plain-English summary for the client to read before the meeting.

**AI must not:**

- Must not set the uplift percentage, the definition of success or the estimate.
- Must not describe statutory caps or charging restrictions from memory: they must be checked in the current regulations.
- Must not be the means by which the client's understanding and consent are confirmed.

**The lawyer checks:**

- The agreement is in plain language, signed by the client, and states the right to independent legal advice and the 5 clear business day cooling-off period.
- Any uplift is no more than 25% of legal costs (excluding disbursements) and the firm reasonably believes success is reasonably likely.
- Nothing is calculated as a percentage of the damages (contingency fees are prohibited).
- The firm has a reasonable belief that the claim has reasonable prospects of success (NSW Sch 2) before providing more than preliminary services.

## Authorities

- [Legal Profession Uniform Law ss 174, 177, 178 (disclosure, settlement disclosure, consequences of non-compliance)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2014-16a)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law ss 180-185 (costs agreements, conditional costs agreements, uplift fees, contingency fees prohibited, void agreements)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2014-16a)
- [Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW) Sch 2 (no legal services without reasonable prospects of success)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2014-016)
- [Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 8.3 (maximum costs fixed by regulation)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2017-010)
- [Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) s 337 (maximum costs)](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-086)
- [Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) ss 323-325, 345-347 (conditional costs agreements and speculative personal injury claims)](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2007-024)

## Official form

[Official form](https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/lawyers/legal-costs/costs-disclosure)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/no-win-no-fee-costs-agreement and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

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