The phrase sounds simple, but the arrangement behind it can vary a lot. Agreements treat disbursements such as medical reports in different ways, and success can be defined in different ways too. If you live in or near Coniston, read any costs agreement before you sign and ask about anything unclear. Our free claim check can tell you whether you need a lawyer, and it comes with no obligation.
Wollongong & the Illawarra · No win, no fee explained
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The phrase, explained plainly
“No win, no fee” generally describes a costs arrangement where the lawyer's professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds. The agreement that sets this out is often called a conditional costs agreement, because payment depends on a condition: success. Beyond that basic idea, the details vary between lawyers, which is why the written terms matter more than the phrase itself.
What you might still pay
If a claim doesn't succeed, you may still owe something, depending on the terms. That could include disbursements already paid out, such as medical reports. The agreement should also say what happens to costs if you end it early. None of this is meant to alarm you; it's the reason to read the costs terms closely and ask questions before signing.
- Fees for medical reports
- Charges for obtaining hospital or treatment records
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
Legal costs and where you live: Coniston
If Wollongong Hospital or Shellharbour Hospital treated you, a claim may later need reports from your doctors. Check how any costs agreement deals with those reports before you sign. Being in the Wollongong City Council area doesn't change the costs rules for a CTP claim. Maximum legal costs are set statewide by regulation, so a lawyer in another council area works to the same limits as one down the road. From Coniston, the Sydney CBD is roughly 70 km away. That doesn't limit whose costs terms you can compare. Written terms can be emailed, lawyers can explain them by phone or video, and our claim check is by phone and online.
- Region
- Wollongong & the Illawarra
- Postcode
- 2500
- Local government area
- Wollongong City Council
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~70 km
Free claim check
Free, no obligation: start here
Call (02) 7238 7379 or start online. It's free, with no obligation, so you can settle the lawyer question before any talk of costs.
Before you sign: the costs questions that matter
A no win, no fee arrangement is only as clear as its written terms. These questions help you find out what you'd pay in each outcome. Ask them of any lawyer, and get the answers in writing.
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- Which disbursements, such as medical reports, could I be asked to cover, and when?
General information, not legal advice. Costs terms differ between lawyers, and legal costs in CTP claims are regulated. Rely on the written terms you're given.
Before costs: do you need legal help?
Before comparing costs terms, check whether you need a lawyer in the first place. These lists cover common situations. Our free claim check can give you an answer for your own facts.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A damages claim looks possible, so legal costs are likely to be part of the picture
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
- You're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- You've been offered costs terms and can't tell what you'd owe if the claim failed
You may not need one
- You only need help with the claim form or finding the right insurer
- One declined treatment request can be sorted out with a report from your doctor
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
A lawyer's work runs on medical evidence, starting with the Certificate of Fitness. If you don't yet have a treating team that knows the CTP scheme, doctors and allied health are often the first help to arrange.
Not quite your situation?
- Hurt at work, or in a crash while you were working? That is usually a workers compensation claim first, which is a different scheme from CTP. Tell us what happened and we can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- If you've decided to engage a solicitor and want to know about the first meeting and the costs documents, the compensation solicitor page covers them. Compensation solicitor in Coniston
- If the bigger question is whether a CTP lawyer is worth it for your claim at all, the CTP lawyer page answers that first. CTP lawyer in Coniston
Regulated costs and what they mean for you
The CTP scheme caps legal costs by regulation, for statutory benefits work and for damages claims alike. That changes the no win, no fee conversation. Instead of asking only what you'd pay if you lose, ask how the lawyer's fees relate to the regulated maximums, and whether any part of the costs would come out of your compensation. The caps are indexed, so no fixed figure is quoted here.
If your questions are about statutory benefits and your accident was on or after 1 December 2017, the free CTP Legal Advisory Service may answer them without any costs arrangement. You can ask CTP Assist (1300 656 919) to put you through to it. Its limits matter: no damages claims, no older-scheme claims, and nothing that's already in internal review or before the Commission. Beyond those limits, the costs questions on this page come into play.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
How to compare costs arrangements fairly
If you're speaking with more than one lawyer, compare their terms on the same points: what's payable if the claim doesn't succeed, how disbursements are treated, how fees on success are worked out, and what the estimate of total costs is. A headline label tells you little. Two arrangements both called no win, no fee can leave you in quite different positions.
Same label, different terms
Two arrangements can both be called no win, no fee and still differ on disbursements, on what counts as success and on what comes out at the end. Compare the terms, not the label.
Which terms to get in writing
A spoken explanation is a start, not the arrangement. Ask for three things in writing: what you'd pay if the claim doesn't succeed, how disbursements such as medical reports are handled, and how the lawyer's fees are worked out if it does succeed. If any of those is missing or vague, ask again before you sign.
Keep a copy
Keep the signed agreement and every costs update with your claim papers. If a bill arrives later, you'll want to check it against the terms you agreed to.
Start with a free claim check
Here's the only promise we make about cost: our claim check is free, and there's no obligation. We look at where your claim is up to and tell you what help it needs. Sometimes that's an independent lawyer, and then the costs questions on this page matter. Often it's a doctor, CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
In an injury claim, it's shorthand for a costs arrangement in which the lawyer is paid professional fees only if the claim succeeds. The arrangement is often set out in what's called a conditional costs agreement. The details vary between lawyers: how success is defined, how disbursements such as medical reports are handled, and what comes out of any compensation. The written terms are what count, so ask for them and read them before you sign.
Yes, and it's sensible to. Ask for an estimate in writing, how it was worked out and what could change it, such as the claim running longer than expected or needing more expert reports. Ask how you'll be told if the estimate changes. An estimate isn't a fixed price, but it gives you something to compare between lawyers and to check against as the claim goes on.
Ask about this before you sign, because the answer depends on the agreement and the rules that apply to it. An agreement may include a cooling-off period, and a clear one should explain what happens to costs if you end the arrangement early, including any work already done. If you're unsure, take the agreement away, read it and ask questions first. Signing is easier to delay than to undo.
It depends on the lawyer, so ask before the conversation starts. Some lawyers may not charge for an initial discussion about a motor accident claim, and others may; don't assume either way. Our claim check is different: it's free, with no obligation, and it can tell you whether a lawyer would add anything to your claim before you have that conversation.
Ask both for their terms in writing, then compare them on the same points: what you'd owe if you lose, how disbursements are handled, how fees are worked out on success, how success is defined and the estimate of total costs. If one set of terms is vague on any of these, ask for more detail. Take your time; a costs agreement doesn't have to be signed at the first conversation.
At least three things: what you'd pay if the claim fails, how disbursements such as medical reports are handled, and how fees are worked out if the claim succeeds. It also helps to have an estimate of total costs, a clear definition of success, and what happens if you end the agreement early. Written answers let you compare lawyers and check any later bill against what you agreed.
No win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Coniston
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CTP Lawyer is not a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice; the independent lawyer you speak with can advise on your own situation.