Costs disclosure obligations for Australian law firms
Australian law practices must give clients a written costs disclosure before or as soon as practicable after being instructed, explaining the basis of costs, estimated total, billing intervals and the client's rights. The Legal Profession Uniform Law sets the regime in NSW, VIC and WA, with equivalent provisions in other states.
Coverage
Any Australian law practice charging a client for legal services where total costs are likely to exceed $750 (NSW/VIC/WA). Limited exceptions apply for sophisticated clients, government and some commercial clients.
Legal basis
Legal Profession Uniform Law Part 4.3 (ss 174–178). Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015. Equivalent provisions in the Legal Profession Acts of QLD, SA, TAS, ACT and NT.
The obligations
Provide written costs disclosure before or at the start of the retainer
Give a written costs disclosure to the client as soon as practicable after receiving instructions, before substantive legal work begins.
Explain the basis of charging
Disclose the basis on which costs will be calculated — hourly rate, fixed fee, scale, or conditional costs agreement — and the amounts involved.
Provide an estimate of the total legal costs
Give a genuine estimate of the total legal costs, including disbursements and GST, and explain the major variables that could change it.
Notify clients of the right to negotiate and complain
Explain the client's right to negotiate a costs agreement, to receive bills, to request itemised bills, and to complain to the Legal Services Commissioner.
Update the disclosure when costs change materially
If there is a significant change to anything previously disclosed — including the estimate — provide an updated written disclosure as soon as reasonably practicable.
Use plain language the client can understand
Costs disclosure must be written in clear plain language and must be capable of being understood by the client.
Comply with special rules for conditional costs agreements
Conditional costs agreements must be in writing, signed by the client, include a five business day cooling-off period, and comply with uplift fee limits.
Disclose the legal costs of another law practice
If the firm retains another law practice (e.g. counsel or a town agent), disclose the costs of that retainer to the client before the costs are incurred.
Issue compliant bills of costs
Any bill must include a notice of the client's rights, be signed by an Australian legal practitioner, and on request be provided in itemised form within 28 days.
Retain costs disclosure and billing records
Keep costs disclosures, updated disclosures, costs agreements and bills on the matter file for at least seven years, available for audit and for any costs assessment.
What happens if you do not comply
Non-compliant disclosure means the law practice cannot recover legal costs without a costs assessment, and any costs agreement is void. Persistent non-compliance can lead to disciplinary action by the Legal Services Commissioner.
Reporting requirements
There are no routine reporting obligations, but firms must produce costs disclosure and billing records on request to a costs assessor, the Legal Services Commissioner, or a court.
What firms should do today
- Use a standardised costs disclosure template and review it annually against current Uniform Law requirements
- Require lawyers to revisit the estimate whenever the scope of work materially changes and issue an updated disclosure
- Automate bill templates so every invoice includes the required client rights notice
- Train all staff on the seven day and five day cooling off rules for costs and conditional costs agreements
- Keep costs disclosure, agreements and bills searchable on the matter file for at least seven years
Compliance with Quillio
Quillio drafts plain language scope and costs summaries that can feed into the firm's disclosure template — while keeping every client detail on Australian-hosted infrastructure. See /resources/security.
This guide is general information about costs disclosure only — not legal or compliance advice. Costs rules vary slightly between Uniform Law and non-Uniform Law states and the application to any specific retainer depends on its circumstances.
Build compliance into your stack.
Quillio is built around AU compliance from the ground up — SOC 2 Type II + ISO 27001 + Australian data sovereignty. The free trial requires no sales call.
Start your free trial