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When you place your trust in a professional — a lawyer, doctor, financial adviser, or consultant — you expect them to meet the standard their role demands. When they don’t, and you’re left dealing with the consequences, that’s not just frustrating. It can be financially ruinous, physically harmful, or both.
If a professional in Canberra has failed you, you may have grounds for a negligence claim. Fair Go Australia works exclusively on professional negligence matters across the ACT, connecting people who’ve been genuinely harmed with specialist lawyers who know exactly how to pursue these claims.
Professional negligence occurs when a person engaged in a recognised profession fails to meet the standard of care reasonably expected of a competent practitioner in that field — and that failure causes you measurable loss.
In the ACT, these claims are governed primarily by the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 (ACT), which codifies the duty of care framework, breach standards, and principles of causation that courts apply when assessing a negligence claim.
Canberra has an unusually concentrated professional landscape. The federal public service, its adjacent consulting ecosystem, specialist legal and accounting firms, and a well-developed healthcare sector mean that the ACT sees a wide range of professional negligence scenarios — from solicitors handling complex government-related matters to financial advisers managing the retirement funds of career public servants.
That professional density also means accountability matters. When you’ve made career-defining decisions based on expert advice — and that advice turns out to have been negligent — the consequences don’t stay professional. They follow you home.
Fair Go Australia operates across the ACT and nationally. Our focus is exclusively on professional negligence — we don’t take on general legal work. For people in Canberra, that level of specialisation matters.
Not all professional failures are the same. The claim type that applies to your situation will shape how the case is assessed, what evidence is needed, and what compensation you may be able to recover.
If your situation involves a professional not listed here, contact us. The underlying legal framework under the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 (ACT) applies broadly across recognised professional categories.
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 (ACT) provides the primary legislative framework for negligence claims in the Territory. To establish a professional negligence claim under ACT law, four key elements must be satisfied.
Duty of care. The professional must have owed you a duty to exercise reasonable care. In most professional relationships — solicitor and client, doctor and patient, financial adviser and investor — this duty is well established.
Breach of duty. The professional must have fallen below the standard of care expected of a competent practitioner in their field. The landmark High Court decision in Rogers v Whitaker (1992) remains foundational in Australian professional negligence law — establishing that the standard is not simply what the profession considers acceptable, but what the court determines is reasonable in the circumstances.
Causation. The breach must have caused your loss. This requires demonstrating that, but for the professional’s failure, the harm you suffered would not have occurred — or would have been materially different.
Loss or damage. You must have suffered actual, measurable harm — whether financial, physical, or psychological.
Claims in the ACT may be heard in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, or, where jurisdiction and subject matter warrant it, in the Federal Court of Australia (ACT Registry).
For a plain-English explanation of duty of care and how it applies to your situation, see our duty of care guide. You can also read our full analysis of Rogers v Whitaker.
In the ACT, the general limitation period for professional negligence claims is three years from the date you became aware — or ought reasonably to have become aware — of the relevant facts giving rise to the claim. This is governed by the Limitation Act 1985 (ACT).
The discovery rule matters significantly in professional negligence cases. The harm caused by a negligent professional is not always immediately apparent. A solicitor’s error may only become clear years later when a transaction falls over. A doctor’s misdiagnosis may only surface when a second opinion is sought. The limitation clock generally begins when you had, or should reasonably have had, the information needed to identify that something went wrong.
That said, limitation periods are strictly enforced. If the deadline passes before a claim is filed, your right to pursue compensation may be permanently lost.
In the ACT, professional negligence claims must generally be commenced within three years of the date you became aware — or should reasonably have become aware — of the negligence. Missing this deadline can permanently extinguish your right to claim. If you are unsure whether your limitation period is still open, contact our team for a free assessment as soon as possible.
Our role is to take the complexity off your plate. From the moment you contact Fair Go Australia, you’ll deal with a team that works exclusively in professional negligence — not a general practice firm that picks up these matters occasionally.
If you’ve been harmed by a professional’s failure — and you’re not sure where that leaves you legally — the first step is a free, confidential case evaluation. There’s no obligation to proceed, no upfront cost, and no legal jargon. We respond within one business day.
In most cases, three years from the date you discovered — or ought reasonably to have discovered — the relevant facts. This is set out in the Limitation Act 1985 (ACT). Because the discovery rule involves a degree of interpretation, it’s worth getting legal advice sooner rather than later. The consequences of missing the deadline are severe: once the limitation period expires, your right to claim is generally extinguished entirely.
Yes, in appropriate circumstances. Professionals engaged to provide expert advice — whether as public servants or contracted consultants — owe a duty of care to those who rely on that advice. Where a government-adjacent professional has provided negligent guidance that caused you measurable loss, the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 (ACT) applies in the same way it would to any other professional relationship. The involvement of a government entity can add procedural complexity, which is why specialist legal advice is particularly important in these matters.
A complaint to the ACT Law Society is a regulatory matter — it may result in a disciplinary outcome for the solicitor but does not result in financial compensation for you. A professional negligence claim is a civil matter pursued through the courts that seeks to recover the losses you’ve actually suffered as a result of the solicitor’s failure. You can do both, but they are separate processes with different purposes.
Yes. All matters we accept in the ACT and nationally are handled on a no-win, no-fee basis. If your claim is not successful, you pay no legal fees. We assess each matter individually, and we’ll be transparent with you during your free case evaluation about whether we believe your claim has sufficient merit to proceed.
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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