No Win No Fee Medical Negligence in Victoria

The short answer

In Victoria, “no win, no fee” means a conditional costs agreement: a written agreement, allowed by the Legal Profession Uniform Law, that some or all of your lawyer’s fees are payable only if the claim has the successful outcome the agreement defines.

General information only — this article is not legal advice.

It does not mean there is nothing to pay. The agreement can make you liable for disbursements, such as expert reports and court fees, whatever the result. If the claim succeeds, the lawyer may also charge an uplift fee, and where the matter is in court, or likely to go there, that uplift cannot exceed 25% of the legal costs, excluding disbursements. A lawyer cannot charge you a share of your compensation. A fee calculated by reference to the amount of an award or settlement is prohibited, and the only Victorian exception is a court order in a class action. And if a claim goes to court and fails, you may be ordered to pay part of the other side’s costs, which your own agreement cannot remove.

“No win, no fee” is advertising language, not a legal term. The Uniform Law, which applies in Victoria as Schedule 1 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic), calls the arrangement a conditional costs agreement and sets out what one must contain. This guide explains those rules in general terms. It does not describe any firm’s own fees, and it publishes no compensation figures.

What a Victorian no win, no fee agreement can and cannot do, and where each rule comes from:

Part of the cost	What the law says	Where the rule comes from
Your lawyer’s professional fees	Can be made payable only on a successful outcome, which the agreement must define in writing	Uniform Law s 181(1)–(2)
Disbursements (expert reports, records fees, court fees, barristers)	The agreement may make them payable whatever the outcome	Uniform Law s 181(6)
Uplift (success) fee	Payable only on success. Where the matter is in court or likely to go there, it cannot exceed 25% of the legal costs, excluding disbursements, and the lawyer must reasonably believe success is reasonably likely	Uniform Law s 182
A percentage of your compensation	Prohibited, except under a court order in a class action	Uniform Law s 183; Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) s 33ZDA
The other side’s costs if a court case fails	Decided by the court, not by your agreement with your lawyer	Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) s 24
Changing your mind after signing	A cooling-off period of at least 5 clear business days, and no uplift fee if you end the agreement within it	Uniform Law s 181(4)–(5)

Section numbers are to the Legal Profession Uniform Law as it applies in Victoria, Schedule 1 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic), authorised version 018, incorporating amendments as at 11 October 2023, checked 29 Sep 2026. The 25% uplift limit is a fixed percentage and is not indexed.

What does “no win, no fee” legally mean in Victoria?

It means a costs agreement under which payment of some or all of the legal costs is conditional on the successful outcome of the matter (Uniform Law s 181(1)). The law does not say what “successful” means. The agreement has to, in writing and in plain language (s 181(2)). Read that definition first, because everything else in the agreement turns on it. A settlement, a judgment, a partial recovery and a recovery that is less than the costs may each be treated differently depending on how the agreement is worded.

The Uniform Law also sets some formal requirements. A conditional costs agreement must be signed by you, and it must include a statement that you have been told of your right to get independent legal advice before entering into it (s 181(3)). It must give you a cooling-off period of at least 5 clear business days, during which you can end it by written notice (s 181(4)). If you do end it in that period, the lawyer can recover only the costs of work done on your instructions and with your knowledge during that time, and cannot recover any uplift fee (s 181(5)).

An agreement that breaks these rules is void (s 185(1)). That does not mean the lawyer is paid nothing. It means the lawyer cannot recover more than it would have been entitled to if the agreement had never existed, and must repay any excess.

Can a lawyer take a percentage of your compensation in Victoria?

No, not in an ordinary individual claim. Section 183 of the Uniform Law prohibits a costs agreement under which the amount payable to the law practice, or any part of it, is calculated by reference to the amount of any award or settlement, or the value of any property, that may be recovered. A law practice that enters into that kind of agreement is not entitled to recover anything for its work in the matter and must repay what it received (s 185(4)).

This is the fee arrangement often called a contingency fee, and it is common in the United States. The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, the regulator for Victorian lawyers, says it is illegal in Victoria in all litigious matters except certain class actions. The exception is a group costs order under section 33ZDA of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic). The Supreme Court can make that order only in a group proceeding, on the plaintiff’s application, and it sets the percentage itself. It does not apply to a single person’s medical negligence claim.

So if a costs agreement for an individual Victorian medical negligence claim describes the lawyer’s fee as a percentage of what you receive, that is a reason to stop and ask the lawyer to explain it in writing, or to contact the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner.

What is an uplift fee, and how much can it be?

An uplift fee is additional legal costs, excluding disbursements, payable under a costs agreement on the successful outcome of the matter (Uniform Law s 6). It is the lawyer’s premium for carrying the risk of not being paid if the claim fails.

Where the matter is litigious, meaning proceedings in a court or tribunal have been issued or are likely, section 182(2) sets two limits. The agreement cannot provide for an uplift fee unless the law practice reasonably believes a successful outcome is reasonably likely. And the uplift cannot exceed 25% of the legal costs, excluding disbursements, otherwise payable. The regulator puts the point plainly: the maximum is 25% of the legal fees charged, not a percentage of what was paid to you by the other side.

An agreement with an uplift fee must say how the uplift is calculated, and must include an estimate of it, or a range of estimates with an explanation of what could change it (s 182(3)). A law practice that contravenes section 182 cannot recover any of the uplift and must repay it (s 185(3)).

What does “no win” not cover?

Three things, and they are where people are most often surprised.

Disbursements. These are payments made to other people for your claim: the fee for copies of your medical records, the independent specialist who reviews the care, a barrister, and the court filing fee. A conditional costs agreement may provide for disbursements to be paid irrespective of the outcome (Uniform Law s 181(6)). The regulator’s own summary is that “no win, no fee” does not mean there is nothing to pay if you lose. Some agreements say the firm will carry disbursements on a claim that fails, some do not, and some do in part. That is a term of the agreement, not a protection the law gives you.
The other side’s costs. Once a claim is in court, the court decides who pays costs and to what extent (Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) s 24). If you lose, you may be ordered to pay a proportion of the other side’s legal costs. In a medical negligence case the other side is usually a hospital or a doctor’s indemnity insurer. Your agreement with your own lawyer binds you and your lawyer. It cannot bind the court or the defendant.
The cost of funding disbursements. Disbursements are sometimes paid for with borrowed money. The regulator describes a litigation lender that finances the lawyer to pay the disbursements during your case, which you repay with interest. Ask whether that applies and on what terms.

What must a lawyer tell you about costs in writing?

The Uniform Law puts the disclosure duty on the law practice, not on you. When or as soon as practicable after you first give instructions, the practice must tell you in writing the basis on which legal costs will be calculated and an estimate of the total legal costs (s 174(1)(a), (6)). It must also tell you your rights to negotiate a costs agreement and the billing method, to receive a bill and ask for an itemised one, and to seek the help of the regulator if there is a dispute about costs (s 174(2)(a)). If anything significant changes, including the estimate, it must tell you that too (s 174(1)(b)). And it must take all reasonable steps to satisfy itself that you have understood and consented to the proposed course of action and the proposed costs (s 174(3)).

There is one more disclosure at the end. Before a settlement is signed in a matter that is in court or likely to go there, the practice must give you a reasonable estimate of the legal costs you will pay if the matter settles, including any of the other side’s costs you are to pay, and of any contribution to those costs likely from another party (s 177). That is the number that tells you what you will actually receive.

If a practice does not meet these obligations, the costs agreement is void, you are not required to pay the legal costs until they have been assessed or the dispute has been decided, and the practice cannot sue you for them until then (s 178(1)).

What should you ask for in writing before you sign?

You have a right to a negotiated costs agreement (Uniform Law s 179), which means you can ask questions and ask for changes before you sign. These are the questions whose answers matter most on a medical negligence claim:

What exactly counts as a “successful outcome” under this agreement?
How are the professional fees calculated, and what is your written estimate of the total?
Is there an uplift fee, how is it calculated, and what is your estimate of it?
Which disbursements do you expect, who pays each one when it falls due, and do I owe them if the claim does not succeed?
Is a litigation lender involved, and on what interest or other charges?
What happens to the costs if I end the agreement, or you stop acting, part-way through?
If the claim goes to court and fails, what could I be ordered to pay the other side, and is there anything that covers that risk?

Get the answers in the agreement itself or in a letter, not in a phone call. If an answer is not clear to you, you are entitled to ask again, and the law says the practice has to take reasonable steps to make sure you understand.

Is the cost to investigate different from the cost to run a claim?

Yes, and it is worth keeping the two apart. Investigating comes first: collecting your medical records and getting an independent specialist to say whether the care fell below the standard and whether that caused the harm. That work is paid for before anyone knows whether there is a claim at all. The disbursements involved, with their sources and dates, are set out in What does it cost to investigate a medical negligence claim?

Running a claim is everything after that: letters of demand, issuing proceedings, more expert evidence, barristers, mediation and, rarely, a trial. That is where the professional fees build up, where an uplift fee may apply, and where the exposure to the other side’s costs begins. A conditional costs agreement can treat the two stages differently, so ask which stage each part of the estimate relates to. How a claim moves through those stages is explained in how to make a medical negligence claim in Victoria.

Why would a firm decline a no win, no fee claim?

Because under a conditional costs agreement the firm carries the risk of doing the work and not being paid for it. A decision to decline on that basis is about the firm’s own risk, and it is not a finding about whether your care was reasonable. What firms are weighing is explained in why lawyers decline medical negligence claims, and whether size alone is a reason is taken up in Is my medical negligence claim too small?

If you want to know whether your own situation is worth looking into, start a free assessment. You will be told plainly where you stand and what evidence would be needed.

Common questions

Is no win, no fee legal in Victoria?

Yes. The Legal Profession Uniform Law, which applies in Victoria, allows a conditional costs agreement under which some or all of the legal costs are payable only on a successful outcome. The agreement must be in writing and in plain language, define what a successful outcome is, be signed by the client, state that the client was told of the right to independent legal advice, and include a cooling-off period of at least 5 clear business days. What is not legal in an individual claim is a fee calculated as a share of the compensation recovered.

Do you pay anything if you lose a no win, no fee medical negligence claim?

You may. A conditional costs agreement can make disbursements such as expert reports, medical records fees and court fees payable whatever the outcome, and the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner says no win, no fee does not mean there is nothing to pay if you lose. If the claim was in court, you may also be ordered to pay part of the other side’s legal costs. Whether your own lawyer will carry any of those costs on a lost claim depends on the wording of your agreement, so ask for it in writing.

Can a no win, no fee lawyer take a percentage of your compensation?

Not in an individual Victorian claim. Section 183 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law prohibits a costs agreement that calculates the lawyer’s fee by reference to the amount of an award or settlement, and a practice that uses one cannot recover anything for its work. The only Victorian exception is a group costs order made by the Supreme Court in a class action. A lawful uplift fee is different: it is a percentage of the legal costs, not of your compensation, and where the matter is in court or likely to go there it cannot exceed 25% of those costs, excluding disbursements.

How much does a medical negligence claim cost in Victoria?

There is no single figure, and nobody can give you an honest one from a website. The cost depends on how much investigation and expert evidence the claim needs, whether proceedings are issued, and how the costs agreement is written. What the law does require is information: a Victorian law practice must give you, in writing, the basis on which its legal costs will be calculated and an estimate of the total, tell you when that estimate changes significantly, and give you an estimate of your costs before any settlement is signed in a matter that is in court or likely to go there.

How Does No Win No Fee Work for Medical Negligence in Victoria?