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 Regentville, 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.
Penrith & the Nepean · No win, no fee explained
Regentville: before you sign with 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: 2745
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Legal costs and where you live: Regentville
If Nepean Hospital treated you, reports about your injuries may be needed later in a claim. How those costs are handled is one of the first things to check in any costs agreement. Being in the Penrith 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 Regentville, the Sydney CBD is roughly 52 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
- Penrith & the Nepean
- Postcode
- 2745
- Local government area
- Penrith City Council
- Distance to Penrith
- ~4 km
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Before comparing costs terms, find out whether you need a lawyer. Our free, no-obligation claim check works by phone and online.
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
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 medical 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.
- Fees for medical reports
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
- Courier, copying and similar office costs
Questions to ask before you sign a costs agreement
You don't need to be an expert to read a costs agreement well. You need the right questions. Here are the ones that tend to matter most in a motor accident claim.
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
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.
Comparing costs terms
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.
How CTP costs rules fit in
A NSW CTP claim has its own costs rules, and they apply whatever a lawyer's arrangement is called. Maximum legal costs are set by the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation and indexed each year. In a statutory benefits claim, costs are recoverable only where the Regulation or the Personal Injury Commission allows, and for some disputes they can't be recovered at all. A no win, no fee arrangement has to fit around those rules.
Some help is free to use. SIRA funds a CTP Legal Advisory Service for statutory benefits questions on accidents from 1 December 2017, reached through CTP Assist on 1300 656 919. It doesn't cover damages claims, older-scheme claims or matters already at internal review or the Personal Injury Commission. Workers compensation is a separate scheme again: in a workers compensation dispute, legal costs may be funded through the Independent Review Office's ILARS program if a grant is approved, and that program doesn't cover CTP claims.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
The costs terms worth having 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
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
Do you need a lawyer at all?
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 settlement offer is waiting for your reply
- You're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- Your dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
You may not need one
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
- You're recovering and expect to be back to normal within months
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
- 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 Regentville
- 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 Regentville
Frequently asked questions
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.
That depends on the costs terms, so ask for a written explanation before you sign. Generally, the lawyer's professional fees and any disbursements are paid, and some or all of that may come out of the compensation. In a CTP claim, maximum legal costs are capped by regulation, and in statutory benefits matters the insurer pays the costs the rules allow. Ask for a written breakdown at the end, too.
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.
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 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.
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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.