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Specialist professional negligence lawyers
You put your trust in a professional — a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, a financial advisor. They were supposed to know what they were doing. When things went badly wrong, the loss landed on you.
We act exclusively for people in exactly that position. Professional negligence claims are all we do, and we handle them on a no-win, no-fee basis — so getting proper legal advice won’t cost you anything upfront.
Understanding your rights
Professional negligence occurs when a licensed professional — a lawyer, doctor, accountant, engineer, or financial advisor — fails to meet the standard of care expected of a competent person in their field, and that failure causes you real, measurable loss. It’s not about a bad outcome. It’s about a failure to do the job properly.
Every profession carries a duty of care. When someone holds themselves out as a qualified expert and you rely on their advice or services, the law holds them to a standard. Most professionals meet it. But when they don’t — and when that failure costs you something real — you may have grounds to claim.
Under the Civil Liability Acts that apply across Australian states and territories, four things generally need to be established before a professional negligence claim can succeed:
Their conduct fell below the standard a competent professional in their field would have met. Something went wrong that shouldn’t have.
You suffered a real financial, physical, or reputational consequence as a result. You can’t claim for something that didn’t cost you anything concrete.
A good starting point for understanding how Australian courts think about professional negligence is the High Court’s decision in Rogers v Whitaker [1992] HCA 58 — a case that made clear professionals aren’t just responsible for the quality of what they do, but also for keeping clients properly informed. It’s been central to how negligence claims are assessed ever since.
Could this apply to you?
There’s no single profile of someone who’s been let down by a professional. Our clients are individuals who’ve lost savings, businesses landed with avoidable tax bills, patients whose health deteriorated because a diagnosis was missed, and homeowners sitting on structural defects that nobody picked up.
What they have in common is that a professional — someone qualified, registered, and paid to get it right — didn’t. Here are the situations we deal with most often:
Your solicitor made a mistake that cost you the case
Maybe they missed a limitation deadline. Maybe they gave you incorrect advice. Maybe they mishandled your matter so badly that you lost a claim, a property, or years of legal costs with nothing to show for it. Solicitor negligence is more common than most people realise — and it’s one of the most clear-cut types of professional negligence claim.
A doctor missed something they should have caught
A delayed or missed diagnosis, a procedure that went wrong, a failure to refer you to a specialist when the signs were there. Medical negligence claims centre on whether the care you received fell below what a reasonable clinician would have provided — and what that failure cost you in terms of your health and your life.
Your financial advisor put you in the wrong investments
If your advisor recommended products that didn’t suit your risk profile, your age, or your financial situation — and you’ve lost money as a result — that’s not just bad luck. Advisors have a legal obligation to give you advice appropriate to your circumstances. When they don’t, you can claim the loss.
Your accountant’s errors landed you in trouble with the ATO
A miscalculation, a wrong deduction, an incorrect tax position, advice that didn’t hold up under scrutiny — accountant negligence can trigger audits, penalties, and significant financial damage. If you’ve been left wearing the consequences of your accountant’s mistakes, that’s exactly the kind of situation professional negligence law is there to address.
A building defect wasn’t picked up when it should have been
Engineers, architects, and building inspectors are relied upon to identify problems before they become expensive ones. If a structural issue was missed, a design was flawed, or an inspection gave you a clean bill of health that turned out to be wrong — there may be a claim for the cost of fixing what should never have been built that way.
This isn’t an exhaustive list. If a qualified professional was engaged to do a job, owed you a duty of care, and got it wrong in a way that cost you — there’s a reasonable chance you have a claim worth looking at.
Our areas of practice
We don’t do general practice. Every case that comes through our doors is a professional negligence matter — it’s the only area of law we work in. That focus means we know it deeply, and it shows in the way we approach each claim.
Don’t see your situation? Get in touch anyway — if a licensed professional caused your loss, we’ll tell you honestly if there’s a claim worth making.
The process
One of the biggest reasons people don’t pursue a legitimate claim is that the process feels like a black box. You’ve already been let down once — the last thing you want is to hand everything over to a lawyer and not know what’s happening. Here’s how it actually works, from first conversation to resolution.
1
You tell us what happened. We listen, ask the right questions, and give you a straight answer about whether what you’ve described sounds like a viable claim. There’s no cost, no obligation to proceed, and nothing to prepare in advance. Just a conversation.
2
If there’s a claim worth pursuing, we go through the detail — the documents, the communications, the timeline of events, what the professional did or failed to do. We’re looking for the evidence that establishes duty, breach, causation, and loss.
3
Most professional negligence claims need an expert — someone in the same field as the professional being sued — to give an opinion on whether the conduct fell below the expected standard. We manage that process so their report carries real weight.
4
Before going anywhere near a courtroom, we put the professional — or usually their insurer — on formal notice. A detailed letter of demand sets out the claim, the evidence, and what we’re asking for. A significant number of claims settle at this stage.
5
If the matter doesn’t resolve through negotiation, we commence proceedings in the Supreme Court of the relevant state, or in the Federal Court for certain claim types. Most cases never reach a full trial. But when they need to, we’re ready to run them.
6
The matter resolves by agreed settlement or court decision. Compensation is paid to you. Our fee comes out of that — only if the claim succeeds. If it doesn’t, you don’t owe us anything.
We handle every stage of this. You won’t be doing it alone, and you won’t be hit with a surprise bill at the end. Read our full guide to the claims process →
What you can recover
The short answer is: it depends on what you actually lost. Compensation in professional negligence claims is aimed at putting you back in the position you’d have been in had the professional done their job properly. What that looks like varies considerably depending on the type of claim and the extent of the harm.
The direct financial loss caused by the negligence — money lost through unsuitable investments, a property deal that collapsed, a legal claim abandoned because of a missed deadline. The most common head of loss in professional negligence matters.
The knock-on costs — engaging another professional to fix the damage, remediation works on a defective building, the extra tax you had to pay because of incorrect advice. Recoverable where they flow directly from the original negligence.
Compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life — more commonly available in medical negligence where there’s been a real physical impact. Courts apply a structured assessment to calculate these amounts.
In successful claims, courts will often award interest from the date the loss occurred. Legal costs may also be partially recoverable — though the specifics depend on the outcome and which court the case is run in.
Every state and territory
We work with clients in every state and territory. Whether you’re in a capital city or a regional town three hours from the nearest law firm, we can help — and you don’t need to come to us in person. The vast majority of our work is done remotely without any issue.
The legislation that governs professional negligence claims — and the limitation periods that apply — varies from state to state. Select your state below for information specific to your jurisdiction, including the legislation and deadlines that apply to you.
And on the subject of deadlines — in most states, you have somewhere between three and six years from the time you discovered the negligence to bring a claim. Miss that window, and in most circumstances your right to claim is gone permanently.
Why fga.net.au
There are plenty of law firms in Australia. Most of them will take a professional negligence case if it comes through the door. Here’s why that’s not quite the same as working with a firm that does nothing else.
We're not a full-service firm that handles wills, conveyancing, and family law alongside the occasional negligence claim. Every lawyer here works exclusively in professional negligence. That depth of focus means we've seen the patterns, we know the arguments, and we understand the case law in a way generalist firms simply don't build up.
We don't act for the professionals being sued. We don't advise insurers. We don't take defence briefs. Our work is entirely on the plaintiff side — helping people recover what they lost when a professional let them down. No conflict. No ambiguity about where we stand.
You've already lost money because of someone else's failure. You shouldn't have to spend more chasing what you're owed. Our no-win, no-fee model is genuine — if your claim doesn't succeed, you don't pay us. We carry the financial risk so you don't have to.
Specialist legal representation for professional negligence isn't always easy to find outside the capital cities. We work with clients across Australia, including regional and remote areas. You don't need to travel to get proper advice. Most of our work is handled remotely with no impact on quality or communication.
Not every situation gives rise to a viable claim, and we'll say so honestly if that's the case. We'd rather give you a clear picture at the start — including genuine prospects and realistic timeframes — than take on a matter we can't deliver on. The free evaluation exists to give you that straight assessment, not to sign you up regardless.
Here’s the one thing we’d ask you not to put off. Professional negligence claims in Australia have strict limitation periods — typically three to six years from when you became aware (or reasonably should have become aware) of the negligence, depending on your state.
It sounds like a long window. But people lose valid claims every year simply because they waited too long to get advice. Once that deadline passes, the right to claim is gone. There’s no discretion to extend it in most circumstances — no matter how strong the case would have been. If you’re unsure whether the clock is still running on your situation, find out now while it still matters.
Common questions
Professional negligence is what happens when a licensed professional — a solicitor, doctor, accountant, financial advisor, engineer — fails to meet the standard of care their role requires, and that failure causes you a real loss. It’s not the same as a bad outcome or a professional you simply didn’t get along with. The question is whether they fell below the standard a reasonably competent practitioner in their field would have met. Australian courts apply this test under state and territory Civil Liability Acts, alongside longstanding common law principles.
You don’t need to have it figured out before you talk to us — that’s precisely what the free evaluation is for. Four things generally need to line up: the professional owed you a duty of care; they fell below the expected standard; that failure actually caused your loss rather than just coinciding with it; and the loss itself is real and quantifiable. If those four things are there, there’s likely a claim worth pursuing. If one doesn’t hold up, we’ll explain why honestly.
It depends on where you are and the nature of the claim. In most states the limitation period runs from the date you discovered — or should reasonably have discovered — the negligence. That’s typically three years in NSW, QLD, SA, ACT, and NT; and up to six years for general claims in VIC, WA, and TAS. If you’re in any doubt at all, get advice now rather than later. The cost of missing the deadline is permanent.
Nothing upfront. We work on a no-win, no-fee basis — you pay no legal costs unless your claim succeeds. The initial evaluation is completely free. If your claim proceeds and you win, our fees are deducted from the compensation recovered. If the claim doesn’t succeed, you don’t owe us anything.
They’re different in nature and go through entirely different processes. Professional negligence is a civil law matter — you bring a claim in court seeking financial compensation. Professional misconduct is a disciplinary matter handled by the relevant professional body: the Law Society, AHPRA, ASIC, or another regulator. A misconduct finding can result in suspension or deregistration, but it doesn’t put your money back. Both can come from the same situation, but they run separately.
Often, yes. Most professions require practitioners to hold professional indemnity insurance, and that insurance typically includes run-off cover — meaning it continues to cover claims after the professional has stopped practising. So even if your solicitor has retired or your advisor’s business has closed, there may still be an active policy to claim against. The specifics depend on the profession, the timing, and the insurer involved — but it’s worth finding out before you assume the door is closed.
A lot of people who contact us aren’t certain whether what happened to them qualifies as negligence. That uncertainty is completely normal — and it’s exactly what the free evaluation is designed to resolve. You tell us what happened. We give you an honest answer about where you stand. No obligation. No jargon. No pressure to proceed.
We respond to all enquiries within 1 business day.
Our goal is to help people in the best way possible. this is a basic principle in every case and cause for success. contact us today for a free consultation.
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