What the costs disclosure obligation actually requires
In New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, the Legal Profession Uniform Law (LPUL) governs how law practices must disclose legal costs to clients. Under section 174, a law practice must disclose, before or as soon as practicable after starting work, the basis on which legal costs will be calculated and an estimate of the total legal costs.
That initial disclosure is not a one-off. The LPUL also imposes an ongoing disclosure obligation: if there is a significant change to anything already disclosed - for example, the estimate increases materially - the client must be informed promptly. Both obligations apply whether or not a costs agreement has been signed.
Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT each have equivalent costs disclosure obligations under their own legal profession Acts. The structure is broadly the same: upfront disclosure of basis and estimate, plus ongoing disclosure when things change.
Below a certain value - the disclosure threshold - the full disclosure requirements do not apply. That threshold should not be assumed; check the current figure under your applicable Act, as it changes and the consequences of a missed disclosure can be significant.
What happens when disclosure is not done properly
Getting costs disclosure wrong has real consequences. Depending on the circumstances, the client may not be required to pay costs until they have been formally assessed. A costs agreement may also be void. Neither outcome is automatic - they turn on the facts of the particular situation - but both are bad enough that the risk is not worth carrying.
Beyond the direct financial exposure, a costs dispute draws time and resources away from everything else. If the practice's file does not show what was disclosed and when, the dispute will drag on longer than it should. The attendance note is what closes it down.
Why costs disclosure so often happens on a call
In a well-run practice, the formal disclosure document is sent in writing. But that document does not cover every conversation. The initial call often sets the scene - the client wants to understand roughly what they are up for before they even agree to engage. The estimate discussed on that call is the figure they carry. When the bill arrives, it is that number they remember.
The ongoing disclosure obligation also tends to surface on calls first. A solicitor who has spotted that a matter is running hotter than expected usually picks up the phone to flag it before putting it in writing. That call is a disclosure event. If it is not documented, it may as well not have happened.
For law firms specifically, see the law firms hub for more on how attendance notes support compliance across different practice areas.
What to record when costs come up on a call
The attendance note does not need to be long. It needs to be specific and cover the key disclosures made. Here is a practical guide by scenario.
| When it comes up | What to record in the note |
|---|---|
| Initial engagement call - basis and estimate | The billing basis stated (fixed fee, hourly rate, or estimate range), the figure given, any conditions or assumptions attached to that figure, and any questions the client asked about it. |
| Costs agreement discussed or signed | Whether the agreement was explained on the call, any terms the client queried, their acknowledgement and agreement to proceed. |
| Matter running over the original estimate | The new estimate given, the reason for the change (e.g. additional complexity, extended negotiation), the date and how the client responded. |
| Client asks about costs mid-matter | The figure provided, what scope it was based on, and whether the client raised any concerns or confirmed they wanted to continue. |
| Bill disputed or queried on a call | What the client said, what you said in response, any adjustment offered or refused, and what the client's position was at the end of the call. |
In each case, the note should record who was on the call, the date and approximate time, what was disclosed, and the client's response or acknowledgement. Vague entries like "discussed costs" are close to useless in a dispute. The specific figure and the client's reaction are what matter.
The attendance note as evidence in a costs dispute
When a costs dispute goes to assessment, or a complaint lands at a legal services commissioner, the assessor or investigator is looking at contemporaneous records. A note made the day of the call is far more convincing than a reconstruction done six months later when the client has lodged a formal complaint. For a deeper look at how file notes hold up as evidence, see our article on file notes as evidence.
The other side of the coin is instructive. If there is no attendance note, the assessor must weigh the client's account of what was disclosed against the solicitor's. Clients who dispute bills tend to have a vivid recollection of the number they were quoted. Solicitors who conduct dozens of engagements rarely do. A specific record made at the time ends that comparison before it starts.
The note does not need to prove you followed process to the letter. It needs to show that you communicated clearly, gave an honest estimate, and kept the client informed when things changed.
Making it consistent practice across the firm
The hardest part is not knowing what to record - it is doing it every time. A costs conversation at the end of a 40-minute call is easy to underdocument when you are moving straight to the next matter. The note gets thin, or does not get written at all until the end of the week, by which point the specifics have blurred.
A few habits help. First, treat every costs conversation on a call as a disclosure event, not background chat - it is the same status as a written disclosure, and it needs the same record. Second, write the note the same day. A note written a week later is still useful, but it is weaker evidence than one written within hours. Third, make sure the note explicitly names the figure, not just that "fees were discussed".
For firms with a high volume of client calls, this can also be built into a precedent or template - a brief attendance note structure that prompts the fee-disclosure fields so nothing gets missed. See legal file note requirements in Australia for more on what the record needs to cover, and what is an attendance note for a primer on the document itself.
How CallNote helps law firms document costs conversations
CallNote is built for exactly this problem. It takes a transcript of a client call - sent by paste, email, or a phone system connector like Dialpad or Aircall - and generates a structured attendance note from it. It never records calls and never joins them. The transcript is what your phone system already made. CallNote just turns it into a usable, reviewable note.
For costs conversations, the generated note captures the fee figures, the basis discussed, and the client's response as they actually appeared in the call - not as reconstructed from memory an hour later. You review it on screen, correct anything that needs adjusting, and then Lodge and Lock. Once lodged, the note is SHA-256 sealed and timestamped, with any later amendments recorded as dated additions rather than silent rewrites.
If a costs dispute arises six or twelve months later, you have a contemporaneous, tamper-evident record of what was disclosed, when, and how the client responded. That is the strongest position you can be in. For firms that run a high volume of client calls, the consistency that comes from a systematic process is also worth something on its own - every fee conversation gets the same treatment, not just the ones the solicitor had time to write up.
Data is stored in Australia, encrypted at rest, and never used to train AI models. You can try it free for 14 days at callnote.com.au without a credit card.
If you work with a tool that generates attendance notes from transcripts, you can also try the attendance note generator to see how the format holds up against your current practice.
Common questions
Does costs disclosure have to be in writing, or can a verbal call count?
The Legal Profession Uniform Law requires disclosure but a verbal conversation on a call can satisfy the obligation in some circumstances, depending on your state Act and the nature of the engagement. The problem is proof. If you cannot show that the disclosure happened - what was said, when, and the client's response - the verbal conversation is very difficult to rely on later. A clear attendance note made the same day is how you make a verbal disclosure evidentially useful.
What happens if I disclosed costs but have no record of doing so?
The disclosure may still have happened, but you will have difficulty proving it. In a costs assessment or complaint, the assessor or investigator looks at contemporaneous records. Without a note, you are relying on your recollection against the client's. If the client disputes that the disclosure was adequate or even occurred, a missing note leaves you in a weak position. The outcome depends on all the circumstances, but the absence of a record removes your strongest evidence.
Do I need to note a costs conversation every time, or just the initial disclosure?
Both the initial disclosure and any ongoing disclosure when there is a significant change should be in the file. If a matter is running over the original estimate and you call the client to let them know, that call is a disclosure event and should be documented the same day - including the new figure, the reason for the change, and how the client responded. The initial disclosure gets most of the attention, but the ongoing obligation is where practices are more likely to have gaps.
Is a costs agreement enough, or do I also need a file note of the conversation?
A signed costs agreement documents the terms. An attendance note documents the conversation - the questions the client asked, the figures you went through, and their actual understanding and acknowledgement. They serve different purposes. In a dispute, the agreement shows what was agreed in principle; the note shows what was said and understood on the day. Both together are a much stronger position than either alone.
What is the minimum an attendance note needs to say about fees?
At a minimum: the date of the call, who was on it, the billing basis and estimate figure stated to the client, any conditions attached to that estimate, and the client's response or acknowledgement. "Discussed costs" is not enough - if the specific figure is not in the note, the note will not help you in a dispute. Where fees changed from an earlier disclosure, the note should also capture the reason for the change.