Queensland Consolidated Acts

MOTOR ACCIDENT INSURANCE ACT 1994 - SECT 74

74 Giving or receiving consideration for claim referrals

(1) A person (a
"payer" ) must not give, agree to give or allow or cause someone else to give consideration to another person (a
"payee" ) for a claim referral or potential claim referral.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—300 penalty units.

(2) A person (also a
"payee" ) must not receive, agree to receive or allow or cause someone else to receive consideration from another person (also a
"payer" ) for a claim referral or potential claim referral.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—300 penalty units.

(3) This section does not apply if—

(a) the payee is a law practice (the
"current practice" ) that is selling all or part of the law practice’s business to another law practice (the
"new practice" ); and

(b) the new practice gives, agrees to give or allows or causes someone else to give the current practice an amount for the referral of a claimant to the new practice; and

(c) the amount is not more than the current legal costs for the claimant; and

(d) the new practice discloses payment of the amount to the claimant in a costs agreement.

(4) In this section—

"claimant" includes a potential claimant.

"claim referral" —

(a) means a referral of a claimant by the payee or someone else—

(i) to the payer for the purpose of the payer providing a service for the claimant; or

(ii) to the payer or someone else for the purpose of a person other than the payer providing a service for the claimant; but

(b) does not include the advertisement or promotion of a service or person that results in a claimant using the service or person if the advertisement or promotion is made to the public or a group of persons.

Examples of advertisement or promotion that is not a claim referral—

• an advertisement of services provided by a law practice on the website or in the newsletter of a sporting association or charity

• the distribution of promotional stationery or clothing that displays a law practice’s logo to members of an industrial organisation

"consideration" , for a claim referral or potential claim referral, see section 74A .

"legal costs" , for a claimant, means the fees and costs, including disbursements, a law practice is entitled to charge and recover from the claimant in relation to the claimant’s claim.

"service" , for a claimant, means a service related to the claimant’s claim.

Examples—

a legal service, a medical service