Work out what is left of a settlement or judgment after your lawyer's fees, disbursements and statutory refunds are paid.
Personal injury, employment and estate claims are often run on a no win no fee (conditional costs) agreement. If the claim succeeds, the firm's fees, any uplift fee and the disbursements it paid along the way are usually deducted from the settlement before the balance reaches you. Refunds may also come out first: Medicare benefits paid for injury treatment, Centrelink compensation recovery, health funds or income protection insurers can be entitled to repayment.
How to use it. Enter the gross settlement, the professional fees from the firm's final bill (or its estimate), including any uplift and GST, and the total of disbursements and refunds.
Formula. Take-home = settlement - professional fees - disbursements and refunds.
Worked example (illustrative). A $150,000 settlement. Base professional fees are $24,000 plus a 25% uplift of $6,000, so $30,000, plus 10% GST: $33,000. Disbursements (medical reports, barrister, filing fees) are $15,000 and the Medicare refund is $6,000, so $21,000. Take-home: $150,000 - $33,000 - $21,000 = $96,000, or 64% of the gross amount.
Limits. Some states cap what a lawyer can charge in personal injury claims, such as Queensland's maximum for speculative personal injury claims under s 347 of the Legal Profession Act 2007. Statutory schemes (workers compensation, motor accident schemes) have their own costs rules. The tool does not calculate tax or interest. All defaults are illustrative examples.
Fees, Cost Drivers and 2026 Rules
How no win no fee agreements work in Australia, the 25% uplift limit, why percentage contingency fees are banned, Victoria's group costs orders and what you pay if you lose.
Worked Estimates and Checklists
A step-by-step worked example of a personal injury settlement in Australia, showing professional fees, a 25% uplift, GST, disbursements and Medicare and Centrelink refunds.
