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 Port Kembla, 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
How a no win, no fee lawyer charges: a Port Kembla guide
Many motor accident lawyers offer costs terms like this. The details differ, so compare them before you sign.
Postcode: 2505
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Port Kembla & Warrawong
What “no win, no fee” generally means
The idea is simple: if the claim doesn't succeed, the lawyer's own fees generally aren't charged. In practice, arrangements differ. Some treat disbursements, such as medical reports, one way and some another. Some define success narrowly and others broadly. The phrase is shorthand for an arrangement, and only the written costs terms tell you what that particular arrangement is.
Comparing two lawyers' terms side by side
Line the written terms up side by side. Where one lawyer's terms are specific and another's are vague, ask the second to be specific too. If an answer changes between a phone call and the written terms, go by what's written and ask why. It's reasonable to take a few days to compare before you commit.
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.
Legal costs and where you live: Port Kembla
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. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are regulated the same way across the state, whether you're under Wollongong City Council or anywhere else. What differs between lawyers is how their own costs terms are written, so compare those. From Port Kembla, the Sydney CBD is roughly 73 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
- 2505
- Local government area
- Wollongong City Council
- Distance to Wollongong
- ~6 km
Free claim check
A free claim check before any costs talk
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.
Questions to ask before you sign a costs agreement
Costs terms vary between lawyers, so the same label can mean different things. Put these questions to any lawyer before you sign, and compare the answers side by side if you're speaking with more than one.
- What comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- Which disbursements, such as medical reports, could I be asked to cover, and when?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
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.
Do you need a lawyer at all?
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're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- 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
- Your dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
You may not need one
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
- You only need help with the claim form or finding the right insurer
- You're happy with how the insurer has handled things so far
Sometimes the real gap is medical, not legal. If your Certificate of Fitness or treatment records are thin, we can point you to doctors and allied health experienced with CTP claims, with no costs agreement involved.
Not quite your situation?
- Injured at work rather than on the road? That is usually a workers compensation claim, which runs under different rules from CTP. The free claim check 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 Port Kembla. Compensation solicitor in Port Kembla
- If you're still deciding whether your claim needs legal help, the CTP lawyer page for Port Kembla sets out when it usually does. CTP lawyer in Port Kembla
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
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
Put the arrangement on paper
Ask the lawyer to confirm in writing how their fees would be calculated if the claim succeeds, and what, if anything, you'd owe if it doesn't. Ask the same about disbursements, and about costs if you end the agreement early. Written answers let you compare lawyers fairly and avoid surprises at the end of the claim.
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.
How CTP costs rules fit in
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?
The one promise we make about cost
Many people search for a no win, no fee lawyer when what they really need is a clear answer about their claim. Our claim check gives you that, free and with no obligation, by phone or online. If your claim does need legal help, you'll go into any costs conversation knowing why, and knowing which questions to ask.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
No. Many lawyers who handle motor accident claims offer arrangements described as no win, no fee, but not all do, and the terms of those who do are not the same. Some may charge in other ways for some kinds of work. Whatever a lawyer offers, ask for a written costs disclosure and read it before you agree. We don't set any lawyer's fees or terms.
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.
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.
No. It generally means the lawyer's own fees aren't charged if the claim doesn't succeed. Other costs may still apply, such as disbursements for medical reports, depending on the terms. If the claim succeeds, fees are generally paid, often from the compensation. Legal costs in a CTP claim are capped by regulation as well. The only free thing we can promise is our own claim check, which comes with no obligation.
It's generally the kind of agreement behind a no win, no fee arrangement: one where payment of some or all of the lawyer's fees depends on a condition, usually the claim succeeding. What counts as success, and which costs are conditional, are set out in the agreement itself. Terms vary, so read it closely, ask about anything unclear, and keep a signed copy with your claim papers.
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.
No win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Port Kembla
Ready to talk it through?
Get a free, no-obligation claim check. It's the first step toward understanding where your claim stands and what help it needs.
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.