Queensland Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Queensland Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Contents Page Part 1 Preliminary 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Part 2 Amendment of Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 2 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Amendment of s 5 (Act binds all persons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 Amendment of s 9 (Notice of a claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 Amendment of s 9A (Particular provision for notice of a claim procedure for medical negligence cases). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 Amendment of s 20C (Notice of claim for damages for child) . . . 5 7 Amendment of s 37 (Exchange of material for compulsory conference) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8 Amendment of s 62 (Application of pt 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9 Amendment of s 63 (Definitions for pt 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 10 Amendment of s 64 (Meaning of advertises personal injury services) ........................................ 7 11 Amendment of s 65 (Meaning of allowable publication method) . 8 12 Replacement of s 66 (Restriction on advertising personal injury services) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 66 Restriction on advertising personal injury service . . . 9 13 Amendment of s 67 (Prohibition on touting at scene of incident or at any time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 14 Amendment of s 67A (Exemption from s 67(3) and (4)). . . . . . . . 11 15 Amendment of s 68 (Prohibition against paying, or seeking payment, for touting). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 16 Amendment of s 73A (Proceeding) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 17 Insertion of new ch 4, pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Part 6 Transitional provision for Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Act 2006 85 Provision for advertising of personal injury services and touting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 18 Amendment of sch (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Part 3 Amendment of Legal Profession Act 2004 19 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 20 Amendment of s 2 (Commencement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 21 Amendment of s 250 (Conduct to which this chapter applies--generally) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 22 Insertion of new s 252A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 252A Chapter also extends to other persons in particular circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 23 Amendment of s 255 (Conduct about which complaint may be made) ........................................... 15 24 Amendment of s 265 (Referral by commissioner to law society or bar association) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 25 Amendment of sch 5 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Part 4 Amendment of Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 26 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 27 Amendment of s 20 (Summons or warrant for released prisoner suspected of contravening a supervision order or interim supervision order). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 28 Amendment of s 22 (Court may make further order) . . . . . . . . . . 17 29 Amendment of s 43A (Persons who remain prisoners for particular purposes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 30 Amendment of sch (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2006 A Bill for An Act to amend the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, and for other purposes s1 4 s5 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1 Part 1 Preliminary 2 Clause 1 Short title 3 This Act may be cited as the Personal Injuries Proceedings 4 (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Act 2006. 5 Part 2 Amendment of Personal 6 Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 7 Clause 2 Act amended in pt 2 8 This part amends the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002. 9 Clause 3 Amendment of s 5 (Act binds all persons) 10 Section 5(1), after `States'-- 11 insert-- 12 `, unless otherwise provided'. 13 Clause 4 Amendment of s 9 (Notice of a claim) 14 Section 9(3)(b), `lawyer'-- 15 omit, insert-- 16 `law practice'. 17 Clause 5 Amendment of s 9A (Particular provision for notice of a 18 claim procedure for medical negligence cases) 19 Section 9A(4)(b), `lawyer'-- 20 s6 5 s7 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 omit, insert-- 1 `law practice'. 2 Clause 6 Amendment of s 20C (Notice of claim for damages for 3 child) 4 (1) Section 20C(1)(b), `a lawyer'-- 5 omit, insert-- 6 `a practitioner'. 7 (2) Section 20C(2), `A lawyer'-- 8 omit, insert-- 9 `A practitioner'. 10 (3) Section 20C(3)-- 11 omit, insert-- 12 `(3) A failure by the practitioner to comply with subsection (2) is 13 professional misconduct.'. 14 Clause 7 Amendment of s 37 (Exchange of material for 15 compulsory conference) 16 (1) Section 37(1)(b)-- 17 omit, insert-- 18 `(b) a statement signed by the party verifying that all relevant 19 documents, in the possession of the party or, if the party 20 has legal representation, the practitioner acting for the 21 party, that are required to be given under this Act have 22 been given as required; and'. 23 (2) Section 37(1)(d)-- 24 omit, insert-- 25 `(d) a certificate (certificate of readiness) signed by the 26 party.'. 27 (3) Section 37-- 28 insert-- 29 s8 6 s9 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 `(1A) A statement mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or a certificate of 1 readiness may, if the party has legal representation, be signed 2 by the practitioner acting for the party.'. 3 (4) Section 37(2)(e), `the party's lawyer'-- 4 omit, insert-- 5 `the practitioner acting for the party'. 6 (5) Section 37(3), `lawyer'-- 7 omit, insert-- 8 `practitioner'. 9 (6) Section 37(3), `unprofessional conduct or practice'-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `professional misconduct'. 12 Clause 8 Amendment of s 62 (Application of pt 1) 13 Section 62-- 14 insert-- 15 `(2) However, this part does not bind the State, the Commonwealth 16 or the other States.'. 17 Clause 9 Amendment of s 63 ( Definitions for pt 1) 18 (1) Section 63, definition misconduct-- 19 omit. 20 (2) Section 63-- 21 insert-- 22 `incorporated legal practice see the Legal Profession Act 23 2004, schedule 5. 24 law firm see the Legal Profession Act 2004, schedule 5. 25 law practice see the Legal Profession Act 2004, schedule 5. 26 legal practitioner director see the Legal Profession Act 2004, 27 schedule 5. 28 s 10 7 s 10 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 legal practitioner partner see the Legal Profession Act 2004, 1 schedule 5. 2 member, of a law practice, means-- 3 (a) if the law practice is a sole practitioner--the sole 4 practitioner; or 5 (b) if the law practice is a law firm--each partner, and each 6 employee of the law firm, who is a practitioner; or 7 (c) if the law practice is an incorporated legal 8 practice--each legal practitioner director and each 9 employee who is a practitioner of the incorporated legal 10 practice; or 11 (d) if the law practice is a multi-disciplinary 12 partnership--each legal practitioner partner and each 13 employee who is a practitioner of the multi-disciplinary 14 partnership. 15 misconduct means professional misconduct or unsatisfactory 16 professional conduct as defined under the Legal Profession 17 Act 2004. 18 multi-disciplinary partnership see the Legal Profession Act 19 2004, schedule 5. 20 sole practitioner see the Legal Profession Act 2004, schedule 21 5.'. 22 (3) Section 63, definition client, `of a lawyer'-- 23 omit, insert-- 24 `of a law practice'. 25 Clause 10 Amendment of s 64 (Meaning of advertises personal 26 injury services) 27 Section 64(1)-- 28 omit, insert-- 29 `(1) For this part, a practitioner or another person, whether or not 30 the other person is acting for a law practice, advertises 31 personal injury services if the practitioner or person publishes 32 or causes to be published a statement that may reasonably be 33 s 11 8 s 11 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 thought to be intended or likely to encourage or induce a 1 person-- 2 (a) to make a claim for compensation or damages under any 3 Act or law for a personal injury; or 4 (b) to use the services of the practitioner, or a named law 5 practice, in connection with the making of a claim 6 mentioned in paragraph (a).'. 7 Clause 11 Amendment of s 65 (Meaning of allowable publication 8 method) 9 (1) Section 65(1), `a lawyer or a person acting for a lawyer'-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `a practitioner or another person, whether or not the other 12 person is acting for a law practice'. 13 (2) Section 65(1)(b) and (c), `the lawyer'-- 14 omit, insert-- 15 `the practitioner or a law practice of which the practitioner is a 16 member'. 17 (3) Section 65(2), `a lawyer or a person acting for a lawyer'-- 18 omit, insert-- 19 `a practitioner or another person, whether or not the other 20 person is acting for a law practice'. 21 (4) Section 65(3)-- 22 omit, insert-- 23 `(3) A printed publication, directory or database is considered to 24 be published or maintained independently of a practitioner or 25 a law practice of which the practitioner is a member only if-- 26 (a) it is not published or maintained by the practitioner or an 27 employee of the practitioner or a member or an 28 employee of the law practice of which the practitioner is 29 a member; and 30 s 12 9 s 12 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 (b) the person who publishes or maintains it does so in the 1 ordinary course of the conduct of the person's business 2 or affairs.'. 3 Clause 12 Replacement of s 66 (Restriction on advertising personal 4 injury services) 5 Section 66-- 6 omit, insert-- 7 `66 Restriction on advertising personal injury service 8 `(1) A practitioner or another person, whether or not the other 9 person is acting for a law practice, must not advertise personal 10 injury services except by the publication of a statement that-- 11 (a) states only the name and contact details of the 12 practitioner or a law practice of which the practitioner is 13 a member, together with information as to any area of 14 practice or speciality of the practitioner or law practice; 15 and 16 (b) is published by an allowable publication method. 17 18 Example of advertising that contravenes subsection (1)-- 19 advertising personal injury services on a `no win, no fee' or other 20 speculative basis Maximum penalty--300 penalty units. 21 `(2) However, for a practitioner or a person acting for the 22 practitioner or a law practice of which the practitioner is a 23 member, the practitioner or person does not contravene 24 subsection (1) only because-- 25 (a) the practitioner or person advertises personal injury 26 services-- 27 (i) to any person who is already a client of the 28 practitioner or law practice; or 29 (ii) to any person at the practitioner's or law practice's 30 place of business; or 31 (iii) under any order by a court; or 32 s 13 10 s 13 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 (b) the practitioner or person advertises personal injury 1 services on the Internet website of the practitioner or a 2 law practice of which the practitioner is a member if the 3 advertisement is limited to a statement about-- 4 (i) the operation of the law of negligence and a 5 person's legal rights under that law; and 6 (ii) the conditions under which the practitioner or law 7 practice is prepared to provide personal injury 8 services. 9 `(3) A practitioner who contravenes subsection (1) may be charged 10 with misconduct in addition to being liable to the penalty 11 provided under the subsection for the contravention. 12 `(4) A practitioner or another person, whether or not the other 13 person is acting for a law practice, does not contravene 14 subsection (1) only because the practitioner or person 15 advertises personal injury services in an edition of a 16 publication which edition was published before 18 June 2002. 17 `(5) This section does not apply to a client agreement under the 18 Queensland Law Society Act 1952, part 4A1 given by a 19 practitioner to a client for whom the practitioner is acting.'. 20 Clause 13 Amendment of s 67 (Prohibition on touting at scene of 21 incident or at any time) 22 (1) Section 67(1)(b), example-- 23 omit, insert-- 24 `Example for paragraph (b)-- 25 26 `A person who lives near the scene of the incident helps a 27 potential claimant immediately after the incident. If the person, 28 without being asked to do so, telephones a law practice and 29 insists the potential claimant speaks with a practitioner at the law 30 practice about making a claim, the person is acting in a way that 31 would be unreasonable in the circumstances.'. (2) Section 67(3)(a) and (b)-- 32 omit, insert-- 33 1 Queensland Law Society Act 1952, part 4A (Client agreements) s 14 11 s 14 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 `(a) a particular law practice; or 1 (b) an employee or agent of a law practice.'. 2 (3) Section 67(4)(a) and (b)-- 3 omit, insert-- 4 `(a) a particular law practice; or 5 (b) an employee or agent of a law practice.'. 6 (4) Section 67(5)(c)-- 7 omit, insert-- 8 `(c) a potential claimant involved in the incident or a 9 practitioner acting for the potential claimant or the 10 practitioner's agent; or'. 11 (5) Section 67(5)(e)-- 12 omit, insert-- 13 `(e) a person (insurer) who carries on the business of 14 providing insurance for people or property, a 15 practitioner acting for the insurer or someone acting as 16 the insurer's agent.'. 17 (6) Section 67(6), `lawyer', first mention-- 18 omit, insert-- 19 `practitioner'. 20 (7) Section 67(6)(a), `lawyer'-- 21 omit, insert-- 22 `practitioner or a law practice of which the practitioner is a 23 member'. 24 Clause 14 Amendment of s 67A (Exemption from s 67(3) and (4)) 25 Section 67A(1)(a)-- 26 omit, insert-- 27 `(a) the person gives the potential claimant, or someone on 28 the potential claimant's behalf, the name, address or 29 s 15 12 s 17 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 telephone number of a particular practitioner or law 1 practice (the information); and'. 2 Clause 15 Amendment of s 68 (Prohibition against paying, or 3 seeking payment, for touting) 4 Section 68(2)(a) and (b), `a lawyer or a person acting for a 5 lawyer'-- 6 omit, insert-- 7 `a law practice or a person acting for a law practice'. 8 Clause 16 Amendment of s 73A (Proceeding) 9 Section 73A(1)-- 10 insert-- 11 `(c) if the proceeding is for an offence against part 1, the 12 Legal Services Commissioner or a person authorised by 13 the Legal Services Commissioner.'. 14 Clause 17 Insertion of new ch 4, pt 6 15 Chapter 4-- 16 insert-- 17 `Part 6 Transitional provision for 18 Personal Injuries Proceedings 19 (Legal Advertising) and Other 20 Acts Amendment Act 2006 21 `85 Provision for advertising of personal injury services 22 and touting 23 `(1) This section applies to an act or omission happening before 24 the commencement of this section that contravened chapter 3, 25 part 1 as in force before the commencement and had not been 26 dealt with or finally dealt with at the commencement. 27 s 18 13 s 18 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 `(2) The Legal Services Commissioner may, after the 1 commencement-- 2 (a) investigate, or continue the investigation of, the act or 3 omission under the Legal Profession Act 2004; or 4 (b) bring proceedings in relation to the act or omission 5 under this Act.'. 6 Clause 18 Amendment of sch (Dictionary) 7 Schedule-- 8 insert-- 9 `Australian legal practitioner see the Legal Profession Act 10 2004, schedule 5. 11 incorporated legal practice, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 12 63. 13 law firm, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 63. 14 law practice, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 63. 15 legal practitioner director, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 16 63. 17 legal practitioner partner, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 18 63. 19 member, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 63. 20 multi-disciplinary partnership, for chapter 3, part 1, see 21 section 63. 22 practitioner means an Australian legal practitioner. 23 professional misconduct see the Legal Profession Act 2004, 24 schedule 5. 25 sole practitioner, for chapter 3, part 1, see section 63.'. 26 s 19 14 s 21 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Part 3 Amendment of Legal 1 Profession Act 2004 2 Clause 19 Act amended in pt 3 3 This part amends the Legal Profession Act 2004. 4 Clause 20 Amendment of s 2 (Commencement) 5 (1) Section 2(2), `The'-- 6 omit, insert-- 7 `Subject to subsection (3), the'. 8 (2) Section 2-- 9 insert-- 10 `(3) The Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 15DA does not 11 apply to commence the following provisions-- 12 · section 43 13 · chapter 2, parts 5 and 6 14 · sections 199 and 200 15 · chapter 5 16 · chapter 7, part 2, division 7 17 · schedule 4, amendments of the Queensland Law Society 18 Act 1952, amendments 12 and 14.'. 19 Clause 21 Amendment of s 250 (Conduct to which this chapter 20 applies--generally) 21 Section 250, note-- 22 insert-- 23 24 `However, conduct that happened before the commencement of this 25 provision that contravened the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, 26 chapter 3, part 1 and had not been dealt with, or finally dealt with, under 27 that Act may be dealt with under this Act. See the Personal Injuries 28 Proceedings Act 2002, section 85 (Provision for advertising of personal 29 injury services and touting).'. s 22 15 s 24 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Clause 22 Insertion of new s 252A 1 Chapter 3, part 1, division 3-- 2 insert-- 3 `252A Chapter also extends to other persons in particular 4 circumstances 5 `This chapter applies to the conduct of all persons, including 6 Australian legal practitioners and law practice employees, 7 suspected of contravening the Personal Injuries Proceedings 8 Act 2002, chapter 3, part 1.2'. 9 Clause 23 Amendment of s 255 (Conduct about which complaint 10 may be made) 11 Section 255(1)-- 12 insert-- 13 `(c) the conduct of any other person to which this chapter 14 applies.'. 15 Clause 24 Amendment of s 265 (Referral by commissioner to law 16 society or bar association) 17 Section 265(1)(c)-- 18 omit, insert-- 19 `(c) the commissioner believes that an investigation about a 20 matter (an investigation matter) should be started into 21 the conduct of-- 22 (i) an Australian legal practitioner or a law practice 23 employee; or 24 (ii) any person, including an Australian legal 25 practitioner or law practice employee, suspected of 26 contravening the Personal Injuries Proceedings 27 Act 2002, chapter 3, part 1.3'. 28 2 Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, chapter 3 (Other matters), part 1 (Restriction on advertising of personal injury services and touting) 3 Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, chapter 3 (Other matters), part 1 (Restriction on advertising of personal injury services and touting) s 25 16 s 27 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Clause 25 Amendment of sch 5 (Dictionary) 1 Schedule 5, definition relevant law-- 2 insert-- 3 `(e) the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, chapter 3, 4 part 14 as in force at any time before or after the 5 commencement of this paragraph.'. 6 Part 4 Amendment of Dangerous 7 Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) 8 Act 2003 9 Clause 26 Act amended in pt 4 10 This part amends the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) 11 Act 2003. 12 Clause 27 Amendment of s 20 (Summons or warrant for released 13 prisoner suspected of contravening a supervision order 14 or interim supervision order) 15 Section 20-- 16 insert-- 17 `(7) If the magistrate issues a summons under subsection (3), the 18 commissioner of the police service or the chief executive must 19 give a copy of the summons to the Attorney-General within 2 20 days after the released prisoner is given a copy of the 21 summons. 22 `(8) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a failure by the 23 commissioner of the police service or the chief executive to 24 comply with subsection (7) does not affect the 25 4 Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, chapter 3 (Other matters), part 1 (Restriction on advertising of personal injury services and touting) s 28 17 s 30 Personal Injuries Proceedings (Legal Advertising) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2006 Attorney-General's ability to apply to the Supreme Court for a 1 further order under section 22.'. 2 Clause 28 Amendment of s 22 (Court may make further order) 3 Section 22(3)-- 4 omit, insert-- 5 `(3) For the purpose of deciding whether to make a continuing 6 detention order under subsection (1)(b), the court may do any 7 or all of the following-- 8 (a) act on any evidence before it; 9 (b) make any order necessary to enable evidence of a kind 10 needed to support an application for a division 3 order to 11 be brought before it, including an order in the nature of a 12 risk assessment order; 13 (c) suspend the supervision order and make an order that 14 the released prisoner be detained in custody for the 15 period stated in the order. 16 `(4) For subsections (1)(c) and (3)(c), the court may make an order 17 that the released prisoner be detained in custody for the period 18 stated in the order if it is satisfied as required under section 19 8(1).'. 20 Clause 29 Amendment of s 43A (Persons who remain prisoners for 21 particular purposes) 22 Section 43A(3), `subject to an'-- 23 omit, insert-- 24 `subject to a supervision order or'. 25 Clause 30 Amendment of sch (Dictionary) 26 Schedule, definition, interim detention order, after 27 `22(1)(c)'-- 28 insert-- 29 `or (3)(c)'. 30 © State of Queensland 2006