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.
Practice Areas
Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter
CENTRAL TABLELANDS — NEW SOUTH WALES
When a professional you trusted gets it wrong, the fallout rarely stays contained to the original mistake. A missed deadline by your solicitor. A doctor who dismissed symptoms that turned out to be serious. A financial adviser who placed your savings into products that were never appropriate for your situation. The professional moves on. You are left dealing with the consequences.
If that sounds familiar, you may have grounds for a professional negligence claim. Fair Go Australia works exclusively on the claimant side — helping people across Bathurst and the Central Tablelands understand their legal rights and connect with specialist professional negligence lawyers. We work on a no-win, no-fee basis, and you do not need to travel to Sydney to get started.
PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS
Professional negligence occurs when a professional falls short of the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent person in their field — and that shortfall causes measurable harm. In Bathurst and the surrounding Central West, the professional services sector spans law, health, financial services, accounting, engineering, and construction. Each generates its own category of claims.
Some of the situations we see most often from this region:
These are not abstract scenarios. They happen regularly in regional communities where people rely heavily on a relatively small pool of local professionals — and where changing advisers mid-engagement is not always straightforward.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS IN NSW
In New South Wales, professional negligence claims are governed principally by the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW). To establish a claim, four elements generally need to be present: the professional owed you a duty of care; they breached that duty by falling below the standard expected; that breach caused your loss; and the loss is real and quantifiable.
The duty of care standard for professionals was examined directly by the High Court in Rogers v Whitaker (1992), which established that what constitutes reasonable professional conduct is not determined solely by what practitioners consider acceptable within their own profession. Courts look at what the particular circumstances demanded — including the specific information a client needed to make an informed decision.
For claims involving solicitors or conveyancers, the Law Society of NSW and the NSW Legal Services Commissioner provide regulatory oversight. Medical negligence claims intersect with AHPRA’s registration and conduct framework. Understanding which regulatory pathway applies to your situation can affect strategy — and is something our team works through as part of the assessment process.
LIMITATION PERIODS
Under the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW), you generally have 3 years from the date you became aware — or reasonably should have become aware — of the negligence to commence a claim. This is the discovery rule: the clock runs from knowledge of the harm, not necessarily from when the professional act occurred.
For Bathurst residents, delays in seeking specialist advice are common — often because the nearest major law firms are based in Sydney. That delay can erode the limitation window without people realising it. A free assessment costs nothing and can at least confirm where you stand before time becomes a problem.
AUSTRALIA-WIDE COVERAGE
Fair Go Australia operates Australia-wide. The majority of matters are handled entirely remotely — by phone, video conference, and secure document transfer. There is no requirement to travel to Sydney, and no reduction in service quality because of your location.
For clients in Bathurst, Orange, Lithgow, Mudgee, Oberon, and the broader Central West, this is not a workaround — it is simply how we work. Professional negligence law is a specialist field. Most regional solicitors do not practise in it, and for good reason: it requires deep familiarity with duty of care doctrine, expert evidence, and litigation strategy that goes well beyond general legal practice.
Our role is to give you an honest assessment: whether the facts support a claim, what it might be worth, and what the process looks like from start to finish. If we do not think you have a viable claim, we will say so clearly at the outset. A straight answer at the beginning is worth more than false encouragement down the track.
If you believe a professional’s negligence has caused you real harm, the first step is finding out where you stand. Our free case evaluation is confidential, carries no obligation, and will not cost you anything.
✔ No Win No Fee ✔ Free Evaluation ✔ Confidential ✔ Australia-Wide
We respond to all enquiries within 1 business day.
COMMON QUESTIONS
EXPLORE RELATED PAGES
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.
Sign up to our newsletter