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NSW › Sydney
If a professional you trusted has caused you real harm — financial, physical, or otherwise — you may have a right to hold them accountable. At Fair Go Australia, we connect Sydneysiders with specialist professional negligence lawyers who handle exactly these situations, every day, across New South Wales.
You came here for a reason. Whatever happened, we want to help you understand your options.
Sydney is home to some of Australia’s largest law firms, medical practices, accounting firms, and financial planning businesses. Most professionals do their job well. But when they don’t — when the advice is wrong, the diagnosis is missed, or the filing deadline is overlooked — the consequences fall on you.
Professional negligence occurs when a professional fails to meet the standard of care expected of someone in their field, and that failure causes you a measurable loss. In New South Wales, claims of this kind are primarily governed by the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), which sets out how courts assess the standard of care, causation, and damages.
These claims are not about minor inconveniences. The people who contact Fair Go Australia have often experienced serious, life-altering harm — a misdiagnosis that allowed a condition to progress, a legal error that cost them their property, or financial advice that wiped out decades of savings. If that sounds like your situation, you deserve straight answers about where you stand.
Fair Go Australia connects clients across Sydney with specialist lawyers experienced in all major categories of professional negligence. These include:
Your lawyer missed a court deadline, gave you incorrect legal advice, or failed to protect your interests in a property transaction. Legal negligence can have devastating consequences, particularly when it results in a case being struck out or a settlement on terms far worse than you deserved.
A doctor, specialist, surgeon, or GP failed to diagnose your condition, performed a procedure incorrectly, or gave you advice that caused you harm. Medical negligence claims in NSW involve the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) and often require expert evidence from practitioners in the relevant field.
Your financial planner placed you in unsuitable investments, failed to disclose a conflict of interest, or gave you advice that exposed you to significant losses. These claims often involve ASIC-registered advisors and may engage the Australian Consumer Law in addition to the law of negligence.
An accountant’s error triggered an ATO audit, caused you to miss a filing obligation, or resulted in a significant tax liability you should never have faced. These claims require careful forensic analysis of the advice given and the financial consequences that followed.
A structural engineer signed off on defective work, or a certifier approved a building that didn’t meet code. These claims are particularly relevant in Sydney, where the volume of development has created real exposure to professional failures in the construction sector.
Technology consultants who deliver defective systems, miss critical implementation requirements, or cause data loss may be liable in negligence or under the Australian Consumer Law. These claims are increasingly common as businesses rely more heavily on external IT professionals.
The Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) is the primary legislation governing how negligence claims are assessed in New South Wales. For a professional negligence claim to succeed, four elements generally need to be established:
The professional owed you a duty to exercise reasonable care and skill. In most professional relationships this duty is well established. Courts look at the nature of the relationship and whether harm was reasonably foreseeable.
The professional fell below the standard expected of a competent practitioner. Under section 5B of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), courts assess whether the risk was foreseeable, not insignificant, and whether a reasonable professional would have taken precautions.
The breach caused your loss. This is often where claims become technically complex — you need to show the error is what caused your harm, not some other contributing factor.
You suffered a measurable loss — financial, physical, psychological, or another recognised form of damage. Courts do not award compensation for inconvenience alone.
The landmark High Court decision in Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479 remains one of the most cited cases in Australian professional negligence law. It established that a professional’s duty to their client is determined by the reasonable expectations of that client — not simply by what other professionals in the field consider standard practice. This principle has direct application to how the standard of care is assessed in NSW courts today.
This is one of the most important things to understand about any professional negligence claim, and it is worth reading carefully.
In New South Wales, the general limitation period for negligence claims is three years from the date you became aware (or reasonably should have become aware) of the negligence, the identity of the defendant, and that the negligence caused your loss. This is governed by the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW).
There is also a 12-year long-stop period. Regardless of when you discovered the negligence, you cannot commence proceedings more than 12 years after the act or omission that caused the loss.
Act before time runs out.
In NSW, 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.
Understanding the process can make a difficult situation feel more manageable. Here is how professional negligence claims in NSW typically progress:
The first step is speaking with someone who understands whether your situation may give rise to a claim. Our free case evaluation is confidential, obligation-free, and designed to give you a genuine assessment — not a sales pitch.
Your lawyer will need correspondence, contracts, fee agreements, financial statements, medical records, or whatever documentation relates to your professional relationship and the harm you suffered.
In most matters, an expert opinion from a practitioner in the relevant field is needed to assess whether the standard of care was met and whether the failure caused your loss.
Many professional negligence claims are resolved without going to court. A significant proportion of matters settle at the letter of demand stage or through mediation.
If the matter does not resolve, proceedings may be commenced in the Supreme Court of NSW, the District Court, or NCAT, depending on the nature and quantum of the claim. The Supreme Court of NSW handles most substantial professional negligence matters.
Most matters settle before a hearing. If a hearing is necessary, the court assesses each element of the claim and determines what compensation, if any, is appropriate.
The amount of compensation available depends entirely on the facts of your situation. In professional negligence matters in NSW, courts can award damages for:
There is no shortage of law firms in Sydney. But professional negligence is a specialist area — it requires practitioners who understand not only negligence law, but also the regulatory frameworks and professional standards that govern the profession being called to account.
Fair Go Australia works exclusively in professional negligence. Our focus is entirely on cases where a trusted professional has failed someone — and where that person deserves a genuine chance to recover what they have lost.
We also work with clients across Sydney’s North Shore and Eastern Suburbs — areas with high concentrations of professional service providers and, accordingly, a meaningful volume of professional negligence matters.
Free case evaluation
If you believe a professional has failed you and caused you loss, the most important thing you can do right now is find out where you stand. Our free case evaluation is completely confidential, obligation-free, and handled by people who specialise in professional negligence.
We respond within one business day.
A complaint to a regulatory body — such as the Law Society of NSW or AHPRA — may result in disciplinary action against the professional. It does not get you compensation. Professional negligence is a civil law claim that seeks to recover the financial or other loss you have suffered as a result of the professional’s failure. The two processes are separate, and you can pursue both simultaneously.
A claim is likely worth pursuing if a professional owed you a duty of care, they fell below the standard expected in their field, that failure caused you a measurable loss, and you are still within the limitation period. The best way to find out is to speak with a specialist — our free case evaluation is the right starting point.
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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