Letter · Personal Injury & Compensation

Retainer and scope letter for an injury claim

Letter telling the client what the firm will do, what it will not do, who will do the work, and how health information will be handled. It is not the costs agreement, which is sent with it and has to be read as well.

Kind
Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
Where it applies
Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales
AI use
Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
Law stated as at
23 October 2026
Status
Maintained. Checked on 23 October 2026 against the 4 authorities it cites, for Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Version
1
Source
Written for this library

When to use it

Use when the firm agrees to act for an injured person, a dependant or an estate. Send the costs agreement and disclosure at the same time. Do not use this letter as a costs agreement, and do not use it to decline a matter.

Used for these tasks

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

The tool may assemble this letter from the scope the lawyer has marked, and the lawyer checks the scope, the conflicts result and the costs cross-reference before it is sent.

AI may

  • Insert the injury date, the schemes the lawyer has ticked, and the name of the responsible lawyer
  • Attach a list of the next steps the lawyer has already decided
  • Point the client to the costs agreement that is enclosed, without restating the figures

AI must not

  • Must not set fees, an uplift or an estimate in this letter
  • Must not say the firm will act in a scheme or a court the lawyer has not ticked
  • Must not state that a conflict check is clear unless the lawyer has recorded that result

The lawyer checks

  • The scope matches the decision to act, including any statutory benefits that are excluded
  • A costs agreement and disclosure that meets the Uniform Law or the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), as applicable, goes with this letter
  • The client is told health information stays in the firm's approved tools (ASCR r 9; APP 11), and that a loss likely to cause serious harm is assessed under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

Read the full text

More in Personal Injury & Compensation

All precedents for Personal Injury & Compensation · Tasks and AI use in this area