Recovering your costs
If your client, or an associated third party, does not pay for the work you did for them, you can take legal action to recover your costs under certain conditions.
Costs disclosure and bills
You can only seek to recover your legal costs if you gave your client full costs disclosure when you were first retained (for matters above $750). If you did not, you will need to wait until the costs are assessed, or we have determined any costs dispute your client may raise with us.
You must also have given your client a bill for your work. If you have not properly billed your client, you cannot pursue them for costs.
Time limits
You cannot take legal action immediately after your bill is due. You must wait until at least the later of:
- 30 days after the bill's due date, or
- 30 days after you gave your client an itemised bill.
Your client may dispute your bill with our office. If they do, you cannot begin to recover the costs until we have either resolved or finalised the dispute.