The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has upgraded two charges brought by the Legal Services Commissioner and significantly increased the fine imposed for conduct described as ‘prevalent’ within personal injuries practice in Queensland.
The Tribunal found the respondent, a firm principal, had engaged in professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct for advertising that breached the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002.
The disciplinary action related to advertising, including on an electronic billboard attached to a hospital, as well as advertising on the firm’s website and social media.
The offending billboards ran for almost five years and included the statement “Injured?” No Win – No Fee”.
The website and social media also featured statements including “No Win, No Fee personal injury compensation law firm that seeks justice for Queenslanders who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents, at work, in a public place or in the healthcare system.”
After detection of the improper advertising, the conduct ceased and disciplinary proceedings commenced.
In a joint submission the parties agreed that the Respondent has not previously been the subject of an adverse disciplinary finding, had cooperated with the Commissioner and made early admissions.1
The parties also agreed that, apart from advertising on a hospital, the conduct in issue “is of a general variety that is quite prevalent within the personal injuries/compensation legal practice in Queensland”.2
The respondent practitioner explained that “that there were billboards of similar content being displayed by other legal firms and that he did not consider that the content of the billboard and the internet site offended the PIPA”.3
The Tribunal found that statement “concerning” given the solicitor practises exclusively in personal injuries litigation and the PIPA is a statute which governs many claims he would litigate on behalf of clients.4
“In my view, the reckless (at best) breach of the statutory restrictions on advertising over a period of 5 years constitutes a substantial and consistent failure to attain a reasonable standard of competence,”5 the Tribunal said.
Given the circumstances the Tribunal found “the gravity of the conduct has been misunderstood” by the Legal Services Commission.
“The conduct ought not be classified as ‘unsatisfactory professional conduct’, but ‘professional misconduct’. Further, a public reprimand for the conduct is called for. The agreed fine of $2,000.00 is not adequate to fulfil the purposes of the protective regime established by the Legal Profession Act.”:6
“Any fine ought to have a deterrent effect to other practitioners who might contemplate breaching the advertising regulation. A fine imposed upon Mr Bray and, therefore, expected to be imposed upon others must be significant so as not to represent a mere ‘cost of business’ and be a risk worth taking.”7
The Tribunal imposed fines totalling $30,000, ordered a public reprimand and ordered costs.
- Legal Services Commissioner v Bray[2025] QCAT 525 [17] ↩︎
- Ibid. [17] ↩︎
- Ibid. [49] ↩︎
- Ibid. [49] ↩︎
- Ibid. [50] ↩︎
- Ibid. [34] ↩︎
- Ibid. [54] ↩︎
Queensland Law Society guidance
The QLS Ethics Centre provides guidance in relation to advertising, including on the restrictions in relation to personal injury advertising for lawyers in Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) ss 63-69 (‘PIPA’) below.
36.1.4 Personal injury advertising. There are restrictions on personal injury advertising for lawyers in Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) ss 63-69 (‘PIPA’). Advertising of personal injury services takes place if a person causes to be published a statement likely to encourage or induce a person:
- to make a claim for compensation or damages for a personal injury;
- or to use the services of a named law practice for that claim: PIPA s 64.
Advertising is allowed in printed publications such as newspapers, magazines, directories and flyers, as well as billboards, signs and the internet: s 65. It is not allowable on radio, television, recorded telephone messages or by the public exhibition of photographs, films or other recordings of images or sound (e.g. cinema advertising).
The content of personal injuries advertisements is restricted to the name and contact details of the law practice and their areas of practice: s 66(1). Additional statements are permitted on a law practice’s own website: statements on the operation of personal injuries law, a person’s legal rights under that law, and the conditions under which a law practice is prepared to provide personal injury services: s 66(2). Accordingly, advertising personal injuries services on a ‘no win, no fee’ or other speculative basis is permitted only on the firm’s own website.
Touting at the scene of an incident where a person allegedly suffered personal injury, or afterwards at a hospital, or at any time is prohibited (PIPA s 67), as are referral fees (s 68).
The Legal Services Commission monitors and enforces the provisions of PIPA, and a complaint about breach of PIPA can therefore be taken to the Commission. Solicitors should consult the Commission’s Regulatory Guides Advertising Personal Injury Services, Advertising Personal Injury Services on the Internet and Advertising Personal Injury Services on Internet Search Engines and Non-Lawyer Websites.
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