Notice: 9 months, or 1 month after you instruct a lawyer
A Part 1 Notice of Claim under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) must be given within 9 months of the incident (or the first appearance of symptoms), or within 1 month of first instructing a lawyer to act on the claim once the respondent is identified — whichever comes first.
Court proceedings must generally be started within 3 years. Missing the notice period does not automatically end a claim, but it requires a reasonable explanation and hands the other side an argument.
Where these claims arise
- Supermarkets and shopping centres
- Car parks and footpaths
- Rental properties and common areas
- Pubs, clubs and restaurants
- Public parks and council land
- Gyms and recreational facilities
- Schools and childcare
- Medical and dental treatment
The respondent is whoever owed you the duty — an occupier, a landlord, a council, a body corporate, an employer of a contractor, or a treating practitioner. Identifying the correct respondent is not always obvious, and a notice served on the wrong party can put a claim out of time.
Proving negligence
Unlike a workers' compensation statutory claim, public liability is fault-based. You must prove someone owed you a duty of care and fell short of it.
Under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), a person is negligent in failing to take precautions against a risk of harm only where the risk was foreseeable, not insignificant, and a reasonable person in the position would have taken the precaution. The court weighs the probability of harm, the likely seriousness, the burden of avoiding it, and the social utility of the activity.
In practice that means the question is rarely "did I get hurt". It is "what should they have done, and can we prove they did not do it" — whether inspections were carried out, how often, whether a hazard was recorded, and how long it had been there.
Obvious risks and dangerous recreational activities
The Civil Liability Act limits liability in two ways worth knowing. There is generally no duty to warn of an obvious risk, and there is no liability for harm from the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity.
These provisions defeat some claims outright, which is a reason to get an early assessment rather than assuming an injury on someone else's property is automatically compensable.
Evidence disappears in weeks
This is the practical difference between a public liability claim and any other kind of injury claim. There is no police report and no insurer investigating at the scene. If nobody records what happened, there may be nothing left to prove it.
- Photograph the hazard immediately, from several angles
- Photograph your injuries
- Report it in writing on the day, and keep a copy
- Get names and numbers of any witnesses
- Ask whether CCTV covers the area
- Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing
- See a doctor promptly and describe how it happened
- Keep every receipt from the outset
CCTV is routinely overwritten within weeks. A written request to preserve footage, made early, is often the single most valuable step in a public liability claim — and it is one a lawyer can send within a day of being instructed.
How a claim runs
What you can claim
- Pain and suffering, assessed by ISV scale
- Past economic loss
- Future loss of earning capacity
- Medical, rehabilitation and pharmaceutical costs
- Past and future care and assistance
- Superannuation on lost earnings
- Travel expenses for treatment
- Interest, where allowed
General damages for pain and suffering are calculated using an Injury Scale Value from 0 to 100 under the Civil Liability Regulation. Contributory negligence applies here too: if you were not looking where you were going, an award can be reduced without the claim failing.
What it costs
- No win, no fee available in most claims
- Written agreement before work starts
- Early, honest assessment of prospects
- Regulated limits on legal costs apply
- Medicare and Centrelink refunds settled at the end
- You know the net figure before accepting
Frequently asked questions
A Part 1 Notice of Claim under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) must be given within 9 months of the incident (or the first appearance of symptoms), or within 1 month of first instructing a lawyer to act on the claim, whichever comes first. Court proceedings must generally be started within 3 years of the injury.
That someone owed you a duty of care and fell short of it. Under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), a person is negligent in failing to take precautions only where the risk was foreseeable, not insignificant, and a reasonable person would have taken the precaution. The practical question is usually what inspection or cleaning system existed and whether it was followed.
Photograph the hazard and your injuries, report the incident in writing on the day and keep a copy, get witness names and numbers, ask whether CCTV covers the area, keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, and see a doctor promptly describing how it happened. CCTV is routinely overwritten within weeks, so a written request to preserve footage should be made early.
Often yes. Queensland applies contributory negligence, which reduces compensation in proportion to your share of responsibility rather than defeating the claim. Whether an occupier should have prevented the hazard existing at all is a separate question from whether you could have avoided it.
The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) provides that there is generally no duty to warn of an obvious risk, and no liability for harm suffered from the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity. These provisions can defeat a claim entirely, which is why an early assessment matters.
Whoever owed you the duty — an occupier, landlord, council, body corporate, the employer of a contractor, or a treating practitioner. Identifying the correct respondent is not always obvious, and a notice served on the wrong party can put a claim out of time.
More information
If you are injured in a public place as a result of the property owner’s negligence, you could be entitled to make a compensation claim.
Public liability compensation claims
Property owners owe the public a duty of care to ensure their property is hazard free and safe for those who enter onto the property.
We offer a “no win, no fee” arrangement in most claims, which means our professional fees are not payable if your claim is unsuccessful. Disbursements such as medical reports may still arise, and we explain in writing how they are handled before we start.
Our fees are set out in a written costs agreement before we start, and regulated limits on legal costs apply.
If you would like to discuss your case with one of our Rockhampton Compensation Lawyers, contact us now to arrange a consultation.
We can also assist with
- Car and road injury compensation claims
- Work related injury compensation claims
- Property damage compensation claims
Extensive Experience
Our professional team has extensive experience in a wide range of legal areas. Our approach is one of planning and involvement. We will continue to be there to support you with accurate and timely advice.
This page is general information about the law as it applies in Queensland, current as at 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Figures set by regulation are indexed and change. Speak to one of our lawyers before acting.