“No win, no fee” describes how some lawyers charge. It isn't a rule of the NSW CTP scheme, and it doesn't mean legal help is free. For people in Glenfield weighing up a motor accident claim, the useful questions are what you'd owe if the claim failed, what comes out if it succeeds and whether you need a lawyer at all. Our free claim check can help with the last one.
Macarthur & Wollondilly · No win, no fee explained
Glenfield: questions to ask a no win, no fee lawyer
Explained, not promised: what the phrase generally means, what may still be payable and what to get in writing.
Postcode: 2167
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What “no win, no fee” generally means
“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.
No win, no fee in a CTP claim
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?
Reading costs terms from Glenfield, by phone and online
Around Campbelltown and Camden, ask whether fees are worked out by the hour, by stage or another way. The basis should be explained in the costs disclosure in terms you understand. Across Glenfield, many families talk in Arabic at home, and costs terms are easier to weigh up in your first language. CTP Assist (1300 656 919) can organise an interpreter; ask for the costs explanation to be interpreted too. Being in the Campbelltown 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 Glenfield, the Sydney CBD is roughly 31 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
- Macarthur & Wollondilly
- Postcode
- 2167
- Community languages
- Arabic
- Local government area
- Campbelltown City Council
- Distance to Liverpool
- ~6 km
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Six questions worth asking about costs
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 do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
- What comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
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.
Lawyer or not? Settle that first
The costs question only matters if your claim needs a lawyer, and many claims never do. Here's when legal help is often worth paying for, and when you may manage without it.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- You've been offered costs terms and can't tell what you'd owe if the claim failed
- Your dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
- You're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
You may not need one
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
For statutory benefits questions, SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service may help before any costs agreement is needed. CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can put you in touch. Do I need a lawyer?
Not quite your situation?
- If the injury happened at work, including on the road for work, workers compensation is usually the scheme that applies first, not CTP. After a crash, a CTP damages claim may still be possible. We can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- For what happens when you first meet a solicitor, including the costs disclosure and agreement you receive, see the compensation solicitor page for Glenfield. Compensation solicitor in Glenfield
- 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 Glenfield
Put the arrangement on paper
Whatever a lawyer tells you about no win, no fee, the written terms are what count. Look for a clear statement of what happens to costs in each outcome, how success is defined, and whether disbursements are paid as you go, at the end, or only if the claim succeeds. Keep a copy, and note the date you received it.
Keep a copy
Store the written terms with the rest of your claim documents. Checking a later bill against what you signed is much easier when the agreement is to hand.
Disbursements and other costs to ask about
Even under a no win, no fee arrangement, some costs may still be payable. The most common are disbursements: out-of-pocket expenses such as expert reports, records and filing fees that a lawyer pays on your behalf. Some agreements ask you to cover these whatever the outcome; others don't. The only way to know is to ask, and to see the answer written into the agreement.
- Charges for obtaining records
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
Comparing two lawyers' terms side by side
Comparing costs terms isn't about finding the cheapest lawyer at any price. It's about knowing what you're agreeing to. Check how each arrangement treats disbursements, how each defines success, and whether each gives you an estimate in writing. The costs terms are one part of the decision, not all of it, but they're the part you can check on paper.
Same label, different terms
A label is not a comparison. Put the written terms from each lawyer side by side and check each against the same questions before you decide.
Our claim check is free
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 CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
At least three things: what you'd pay if the claim fails, how disbursements such as expert 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.
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.
You may, depending on the agreement. Some arrangements ask you to cover disbursements, such as expert reports or fees for records, whatever the outcome. Others treat them differently. Ask too what you'd owe if you ended the agreement before the claim finished. Ask the lawyer to set out in writing exactly what you'd owe in an unsuccessful claim, and don't sign until the answer is clear.
In some ways, yes, because CTP legal costs are regulated. The Motor Accident Injuries Regulation sets maximum costs, and those amounts are indexed every year. For statutory benefits, a lawyer's costs are paid by the insurer, and only where the Regulation or the Personal Injury Commission allows; some disputes allow none. Damages work is capped as well. Whatever arrangement a lawyer offers has to work within those limits, so ask them to explain how.
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.
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 expert 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.
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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.