Personal injury advertising rules change at every state border

Is there a national rule for personal injury advertising in Australia?

No. There is not even a national professional framework.

The Legal Profession Uniform Law applies in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia only. Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory operate their own Legal Profession Acts and have separately adopted the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules.

Most published guidance blurs this, describing the Uniform Law as though it covers the country. It covers three states. On top of that sit state-specific personal injury statutes that have nothing to do with professional conduct rules at all.

What does each state actually restrict?

The differences are not cosmetic. Queensland and New South Wales are not stricter versions of the same rule, they are different instruments.

Summarised for marketing planning. Confirm current statutory text with the relevant regulator before running any campaign.

Queensland is the outlier. Personal Injuries Proceedings Act sections 63 to 69 prohibit radio, television, cinema and recorded telephone advertising for personal injury work entirely, and confine print and online material to name, contact details and practice area. No imagery. No claims about outcomes.

Western Australia takes a different route again, working from section 17 of the Civil Liability Act, which prohibits advertising that encourages the making of claims. Same intent, different statutory test, and rarely explained in marketing guidance.

Are these rules actually enforced?

Yes, and recently.

In February 2026 a Queensland solicitor was fined $30,000 for unlawful “No Win No Fee” advertising, reported in the Queensland Law Society journal.

That figure is worth holding onto when someone proposes a campaign that runs the same creative nationally. The penalty exceeds what most firms spend on a quarter of advertising.

What can you still say, in every state?

More than firms assume, provided the claim survives scrutiny.

Rule 36 of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules governs advertising generally and prohibits anything false, misleading or deceptive. Rule 36.2 separately bars describing yourself as a specialist unless you hold accreditation from the relevant state Law Society.

Practice area, location, contact details and accredited specialisation are safe everywhere. Outcome claims, settlement figures and emotive imagery are where firms get into difficulty, and Queensland removes most of them entirely.

How should a national PI campaign be structured?

As several campaigns, because it legally is.

Queensland needs its own creative built to the statutory limits, and broadcast is off the table there regardless of budget. New South Wales needs additional handling where workers compensation or motor accident claims are involved. Western Australia needs copy tested against the encouragement test rather than the truthfulness test.

Running one creative set nationally means running non-compliant advertising in at least one state. There is no version of a single national PI campaign that satisfies every jurisdiction.

What we would look at first

Three things, before any spend.

Whether campaigns are geo-separated by state rather than run nationally with state exclusions bolted on afterwards. Whether Queensland has its own creative built to the statutory limits rather than a filtered version of the national set. And whether anyone in the process has read the actual statute for each state you advertise in, as opposed to a summary of it.