New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CIVIL LIABILITY ACT 2002 - SECT 26U

26U Maximum legal costs of eligible claims

(1) The maximum costs for legal services provided to the plaintiff in connection with a victim claim that is eligible to be satisfied from a victim trust fund are fixed as follows:

(a) if the amount recovered on the claim does not exceed $100,000-maximum costs are fixed at 20% of the amount recovered or $10,000, whichever is greater,

(b) if the amount recovered on the claim exceeds $100,000 but does not exceed $250,000-maximum costs are fixed at 18% of the amount recovered or $20,000, whichever is greater,

(c) if the amount recovered on the claim exceeds $250,000 but does not exceed $500,000-maximum costs are fixed at 16% of the amount recovered or $45,000, whichever is greater,

(d) if the amount recovered on the claim exceeds $500,000-maximum costs are fixed at 15% of the amount recovered or $80,000, whichever is greater.

(2) The regulations may prescribe an amount or percentage to replace any amount or percentage in subsection (1). When such a replacement amount or percentage is prescribed, it applies for the purposes of subsection (1) in place of the amount or percentage that it replaces.

(3) Before the commencement of the Legal Profession Act 2004 , Division 5B (Maximum costs in personal injury damages matters) of Part 11 of the Legal Profession Act 1987 applies in respect of the maximum costs for legal services provided to a plaintiff in connection with a victim claim that is eligible to be satisfied from a victim trust fund as if subsections (1) and (2) of this section were substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 198D of that Act.

(4) After the commencement of the Legal Profession Act 2004 , Division 9 (Maximum costs in personal injury damages matters) of Part 3.2 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 applies in respect of the maximum costs for legal services provided to a plaintiff in connection with a victim claim that is eligible to be satisfied from a victim trust fund as if subsections (1) and (2) of this section were substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 338 of that Act.

(5) The "amount recovered" on a claim is the full amount of the damages awarded (not just the amount ordered to be paid from a victim trust fund).