Ask useful questions about experience, responsibility, legal costs and communication before hiring an Australian lawyer. Includes a printable question sheet.
General information prepared with AI assistance and linked public sources. No independent legal review is claimed.
Coverage: Australia-wide enquiry checklist; your lawyer should explain the rules relevant to your matter.
General information only — not legal advice.
Before hiring a lawyer, ask who will handle your matter, what work is proposed, how it will be charged and what happens next. You are looking for understandable answers that help you decide whether to proceed. You do not need to share your entire history during an administrative enquiry.
Questions about experience and responsibility
Describe your issue briefly and ask whether the lawyer regularly handles this kind of work for someone in your position. Ask about the relevant jurisdiction and the stage you have reached. A request for general examples of similar work is reasonable; confidential details about other clients are not needed.
Find out whether the person in the first meeting will continue with the matter. If several people will contribute, ask who supervises and who can answer questions about progress. Keep their names with your appointment notes so that you can distinguish the firm from the individual responsible.
What experience do you have with this type of matter?
Who would handle my work day to day?
Is there anything you need to check before agreeing to act?
Questions about the work and its price
An answer such as ‘we can help with that’ leaves too much open. Ask what the first stage produces: a conversation, a written opinion, a revised document or something else. If the issue develops, ask how additional work would be discussed and authorised. Request an explanation of the charging method in language you understand.
Ask about costs that might sit outside the initial fee, including outside providers or additional stages. You do not need an invented final figure where the work is uncertain, but you do need an explanation of that uncertainty. The regulator's appointment guidance is a useful background reference for preparing your questions.
What does the first fee include and exclude?
Is document reading included?
How will you tell me about changes to scope or estimated cost?
Agree a practical way to receive updates. Ask how to raise an urgent issue, who covers an absence and whether a written summary is included. Explain any language, accessibility or safe-contact needs before the meeting. If a support person is coming, confirm their role with the lawyer.
During the consultation, ask the lawyer to explain the choices and information still needed. You can ask for clarification without pretending to understand unfamiliar terminology. End by checking who is doing each next task. A useful discussion should leave you able to describe the agreed next step in your own words.
How will I receive updates?
What information is still missing?
What have you agreed to do, and what do I need to do?
Recognise an answer you can use
A productive question produces an answer that narrows uncertainty. You are not testing someone with legal trivia. You are clarifying the proposed working arrangement. When an answer is broad, use a focused follow-up rather than assuming either good or bad service.
Practical comparison framework
Broad answer
Useful follow-up
Record the practical answer
‘Our team will assist.’
Who is responsible day to day?
Name, role and contact method
‘The consultation covers your issue.’
Does that include reading my document beforehand?
Documents, reading and meeting output
‘We charge a fixed fee.’
Which stages and revisions does that cover?
Scope, exclusions and extra-work process
‘We will keep you updated.’
When and how should I expect updates?
Agreed channel and contact for questions
How to use the comparison
You might receive a very clear explanation of fees but still be unsure who will attend the meeting. Treat the unanswered responsibility question as a separate item. Do not let one reassuring answer stand in for all the others. Conversely, an office may need to inspect material before estimating later work; ask what it needs and what that preliminary assessment would cost. An honest limit can be more useful than a precise figure with no explained scope.
After the call, rewrite the arrangement in plain language and ask the office to clarify any mismatch. Keep questions about the merits of your situation for the actual advice consultation.
Original editorial comparison framework. Examples are hypothetical and do not assess your circumstances.
Can I ask about fees before making an appointment?
Yes. Ask the office how the consultation is charged and what it includes before agreeing to attend. A final estimate for later work may need more information.
Should I ask whether I will win?
Ask the lawyer to explain the relevant risks, uncertainties and options after assessing your circumstances. A promised outcome is not a substitute for a careful explanation.
Source references checked 19 September 2026. Follow the official source for current information and its jurisdictional limits. Our comparison prompts and hypothetical examples are editorial guidance, not statements of law.
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