How to Make a Public Liability Claim in Queensland — A Step-by-Step Guide

Each year, Queenslanders are injured in supermarkets, shopping centres, parks, footpaths, gyms, sporting venues, and other people's properties — not because of their own carelessness, but because someone responsible for that space failed to keep it safe. Public liability law exists to hold those responsible parties accountable. This guide explains who can claim, what the process looks like from start to finish, what compensation is available, and the steps that protect your position from the day you are injured.

What is a public liability claim?

A public liability claim is a civil claim for compensation against a person or organisation whose negligence caused your injury. The legal basis is the law of negligence: an occupier or operator of premises owes visitors a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm. If they breach that duty — by failing to clean up a spill, repair a known hazard, provide adequate lighting, or manage foreseeable risks — and you are injured as a result, you have a claim against them.

Public liability claims are distinct from workers' compensation claims, which apply when you are injured in the course of your employment. If you are injured at work by a third party — for example, a delivery driver injured at a client's premises — you may have both a workers' compensation claim and a public liability claim running simultaneously. See our guide on public liability claims for a full overview.

Who can make a public liability claim in Queensland?

Any person injured because of another party's negligence in a public or private place can potentially make a claim. Common scenarios include:

• Slip and fall in a shop or shopping centre — a wet floor without adequate signage, produce spillage in a supermarket, recently mopped surfaces with no warning
• Tripping on a footpath or council land — raised pavers, potholed paths, tree root damage, inadequate lighting in public spaces
• Injuries at sporting venues or gyms — defective equipment, unsafe playing surfaces, inadequate supervision
• Falls at a restaurant, hotel, or licensed venue — slippery outdoor areas, poorly lit stairs, broken furniture
• Injuries at school, childcare, or community centres — inadequate supervision, unsafe playground equipment, damaged flooring
• Injuries on another person's property — a tradesperson injured at a residential property due to an unsafe condition the homeowner knew about

For the common scenario of slipping in a supermarket or store, see our dedicated guide on slip and fall claims in Queensland. For public liability claims more broadly, including on footpaths and in other public spaces, that page covers the specific evidentiary requirements in detail.

What do you need to prove?

A successful public liability claim requires establishing four things:

1. Duty of care — the defendant owed you a duty of care. Occupiers of premises owe a duty to all lawful visitors. This is almost always straightforward to establish if you were in a place you were entitled or invited to be.
2. Breach of duty — the defendant failed to take the precautions a reasonable person in their position would have taken. This is the central issue in most claims: was the hazard foreseeable, and did they take reasonable steps to address it?
3. Causation — the breach caused your injury. If you would have been injured regardless of what the defendant did or did not do, causation fails.
4. Loss and damage — you suffered actual harm as a result — physical injury, financial loss, or both.

The most contested element is usually breach — whether the hazard was foreseeable and whether the defendant's response to it was adequate. A shop that had records of regular inspections conducted immediately before an incident is in a very different position to one that cannot produce any inspection records at all.

The pre-litigation process in Queensland

Queensland's Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (PIPA) imposes mandatory pre-litigation steps before a public liability claim can proceed to court. These are not optional — failure to follow the process can result in costs orders against the claimant. The process is:

Step 1: Complying disclosure — the claimant's notice

Your lawyer sends a formal notice of claim to the respondent (the party you are claiming against or their insurer). This notice must include details of the incident, your injuries, the losses you have suffered, and the evidence you rely on. It triggers the respondent's obligation to investigate and respond.

Step 2: The respondent's response

The respondent has a set period — typically one month — to investigate and respond. Their response must include their liability position (whether they admit or deny liability), the evidence they rely on, and their own disclosure of relevant documents. If liability is admitted, the matter moves to assessment of damages. If liability is denied, the parties exchange further evidence.

Step 3: Medical assessments

Both parties will obtain medical assessments. Your treating specialists will provide evidence about the nature of your injuries, your treatment, your prognosis, and your permanent impairment where relevant. The insurer will typically arrange their own independent medical examination. The gap between these assessments — and how well your legal team challenges unfavourable insurer evidence — is often what drives the difference between outcomes.

Step 4: Compulsory conference

Before proceedings can be issued, the parties must attend a compulsory conference — a structured without-prejudice meeting aimed at resolving the claim. Most public liability claims in Queensland resolve at or before this stage. Where agreement cannot be reached, proceedings are issued in the District or Supreme Court depending on the quantum of the claim.

What compensation can you claim?

The heads of damage in a public liability claim are the same as in other personal injury claims — the differences lie in the source of the payment (the occupier's liability insurer rather than a CTP insurer or WorkCover) and the absence of any statutory benefits scheme. Everything you recover must come through the common law claim.

Medical and rehabilitation expenses

All past medical treatment costs related to the injury, and the reasonable cost of all future treatment required. This includes hospital costs, specialist consultations, physiotherapy, psychology, medications, aids and equipment, and home modifications if your injury is permanent and severe.

Past income loss

All wages, salary, or business income lost from the date of the injury to the date of resolution. Where your employer has paid sick leave during this period, that leave has a compensable value — it is your entitlement that was consumed, not a windfall.

Future income loss

If your injury permanently affects your capacity to work, you can claim the present value of your projected future income loss. This is calculated using medical evidence about your ongoing restrictions, evidence of your pre-injury earning trajectory, and actuarial calculation.

Care and assistance

The value of care provided by family members since the injury, and the cost of future professional care where your injury is ongoing. Care provided gratuitously by a partner, parent, or child has a recognised monetary value — it is not lost just because no invoice was issued.

General damages — pain and suffering

Compensation for the physical pain, psychological impact, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium caused by the injury. In Queensland, general damages are assessed by reference to the degree of permanent impairment under a statutory scale, but they can be significant for people with lasting injury.

Evidence that makes or breaks a public liability claim

Public liability claims are evidence-intensive, and the strength of the available evidence at the time of claim often determines the outcome. The most important steps are taken in the hours and days immediately after the accident.

• Photographs at the scene — document the hazard, the surrounding environment, any warning signs (or the absence of them), the lighting conditions, and any visible injury. Do this before leaving the premises if at all possible.
• CCTV footage — this is frequently the most powerful evidence in a public liability claim, and it is routinely overwritten within 14 to 30 days. Your lawyer can issue a formal preservation notice immediately to put the occupier under an obligation to retain it.
• Incident report — lodge a formal incident report with the occupier or council at the time, and ask for a copy. The incident report establishes that the event occurred and when it was reported.
• Witness details — the names and contact details of anyone who saw what happened, including shop staff. Witnesses become harder to locate as time passes.
• Medical records — see a doctor that day or the next day. The first medical consultation is a critical document in every claim. Do not minimise your symptoms.
• Maintenance and inspection records — your lawyer will request these from the occupier under mandatory disclosure. The absence of records, or records that show a known hazard was not acted on, is often the strongest evidence of breach.

Claims against councils and government bodies

Injuries on footpaths, roads, parks, council-managed sporting fields, and other public infrastructure involve claims against local councils or the state government. These claims have special rules. Many councils require notice of a claim within six months of the injury — substantially shorter than the general three-year limitation period. Failure to provide this notice can extinguish your right to claim.

Councils also have a statutory defence under the Local Government Act 2009 (Qld) and the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) related to the allocation of resources — essentially, a council is not liable for every hazard it did not fix if it can show it had a reasonable system for prioritising repairs and the hazard in question fell within an acceptable risk tolerance. Defeating this defence requires evidence that the hazard was reported, was known, or had persisted long enough that a reasonable system would have identified it. This is fact-intensive litigation that rewards early legal advice.

Do I need a lawyer?

You are not legally required to use a lawyer to make a public liability claim, but the practical reality is that the mandatory pre-litigation process, strict time limits, insurance companies with experienced claims handlers, complex medical evidence requirements, and litigation risk make independent legal advice strongly advisable.

AMK Compensation Lawyers handles public liability claims on a no win, no fee basis. You pay nothing unless your claim succeeds. See our no win, no fee explained page for a clear explanation of how this works and what costs you would face in the event of an unsuccessful claim. You can also see examples of our recent public liability results.