Complaints

If something has gone wrong

This page explains how to raise a problem with the firm and where to take it if our answer does not resolve it.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Last updated: 23 September 2026

If you are unhappy with something we have done, you can say so. You can tell us directly, and raising something early is easier than unpicking it later.

If that does not work, there is an independent path that does not depend on our goodwill. The Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner deals with complaints about lawyers in New South Wales. It is separate from this firm, there is no charge to make a complaint to it and you do not need a lawyer to use it.

Start with the person doing your work

Legal services on this website are provided by Jameson Law.

Tell the person handling your matter first. Say what has gone wrong and what you would like done about it. Some complaints are about something that can be corrected quickly: a call that was not returned, a document you were never sent, a step you did not know had been taken.

You can do this by email to [email protected], or through the form on our contact page. Putting it in writing helps, because it fixes the date and records what you asked for.

If the complaint is about that person, or you would simply rather not raise it with them, skip this step and go straight to the next one. You are not required to confront anyone.

If your court date is close, say so when you complain. A complaint does not stop the proceedings, and anything urgent in your matter still has to be dealt with while the complaint is looked at.

Then put it to the firm formally

If you do not get an answer, or the answer does not resolve it, put your complaint formally to Jameson Law, which provides the legal services offered through this website.

Email [email protected] and say plainly that it is a formal complaint.

If your complaint is about a particular person, say so and ask that someone else at the firm look at it. You do not have to complain to the firm at all before going to the Legal Services Commissioner, and nothing on this page requires you to wait for our answer first.

What to put in your complaint

You do not need legal language and you do not need to name a rule you think has been broken. Describe what happened and say what you want done. It helps if you include the following.

Your name, and the matter or file it concerns
What happened, with dates, in the order it happened
Who you dealt with
Copies of the documents that show what you are describing — the relevant ones, not the whole file
What you would like done to put it right

If a bill is the problem, say which bill it is and which parts of it you dispute. A costs dispute runs to a much shorter time limit than a complaint about service, so raise it immediately rather than waiting for the matter to finish.

After you complain to us

We will acknowledge your complaint in writing and tell you who is looking at it. We will not leave it unanswered. Our response will set out what we found, what we propose to do about it and what you can do if you are not satisfied.

When you complain, ask for a date by which you will have a substantive answer, and ask in writing. If that date passes and nothing has come, you do not have to keep waiting. The Legal Services Commissioner is open to you at any point and you do not need our agreement to go there.

Complaining to us does not pause the Commissioner’s time limits. The limit for a costs dispute is short, so it is safer to put a costs dispute to the Commissioner than to let the limit run out while you wait for us.

A complaint about the service you received is a separate thing from your court matter. It is not an appeal, it is not decided by the court, and it does not change an order that has already been made.

The Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner

The Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner, usually called the OLSC, deals with complaints about lawyers and law practices in New South Wales under the Legal Profession Uniform Law and the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW).

The OLSC asks people to try to resolve the problem with the law practice first in most cases, but there are exceptions and you are not required to wait for our answer. Nothing on this page takes away your right to complain to the Commissioner.

A complaint must be made or recorded in writing, and it must identify the lawyer or law practice it is about. You cannot make a formal complaint anonymously: the Uniform Law requires the complainant to be identified. You can lodge it through the OLSC online portal, on its complaint form, or by letter or email. The current form, portal link and email address are on its website.

Consumer matters, disciplinary matters and costs disputes

The Commissioner sorts complaints into two kinds, and one complaint can raise both. A consumer matter is about the provision of legal services without alleging misconduct: delay, poor communication, a dispute about costs, or a dispute about documents or property. A disciplinary matter alleges conduct which, if proved, would amount to unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct.

Unsatisfactory professional conduct is conduct connected with the practice of law that falls short of the standard of competence and diligence a member of the public is entitled to expect. Professional misconduct is the more serious category, covering substantial or consistent failures of that standard and conduct that would justify a finding that a lawyer is not a fit and proper person to practise.

A costs dispute is a kind of consumer matter: a dispute about the legal costs payable to your own lawyer. The Commissioner can try to resolve it and, in appropriate cases, make a determination about what is payable, which may include waiving or reducing fees or requiring a refund. There are monetary limits on the bills it can deal with this way and the OLSC publishes the current figures, so check them there rather than assuming.

The Commissioner does not assess a bill item by item to decide whether it is fair and reasonable. That is a separate process — costs assessment, administered through the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Time limits on a complaint

There are time limits, and they are not the same for every kind of complaint.

A complaint about a lawyer’s conduct must generally be made within a period that runs from the conduct complained about, and the Commissioner has a discretion to accept a late complaint in limited circumstances. Do not assume a late complaint is automatically refused — and do not rely on the discretion either.

A costs dispute runs to a much shorter limit again, measured from when the costs became payable or from when an itemised bill was provided, with a limited further period in which the Commissioner may agree to deal with a late dispute if you give a sufficient reason.

This page does not print those periods, because they are set by legislation that is amended and a figure copied onto a website goes out of date quietly. The OLSC publishes the current limits on its own pages, which are linked at the foot of this page. If a bill is the problem, treat it as urgent.

If the practice has already started court proceedings to recover the costs, that may stop the Commissioner dealing with the dispute any further. It is another reason not to wait.

What happens next

The OLSC assesses a complaint when it arrives and may ask you or the lawyer for more information. It then either closes the complaint or tries to resolve it informally. Where it investigates, the lawyer is given a set period to respond, and that response is ordinarily sent to you for comment.

At the end, the Commissioner may close the complaint, make a determination in a consumer matter, or begin disciplinary proceedings in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. You are told the outcome in writing, with reasons. It is not a quick process, and the OLSC says on its own website how long complaints commonly take.

What a complaint about a lawyer is not

It is not an appeal. If an apprehended violence order has been made against you and you think the decision was wrong, the answer is legal advice about appeal rights or about applying to vary or revoke the order, not a complaint about your solicitor. See variations and revoking an order.

It is not a way to reopen the facts. The Commissioner does not decide whether the allegations in your matter were true.

The Commissioner also cannot give you legal advice or represent you. It cannot order a lawyer to hand over a file, recover a debt for you, or change a decision of a court or tribunal, and it will not usually investigate while related court proceedings are still on foot. It has no power to make a lawyer keep acting for you, and it does not deal with complaints about judges, magistrates or court staff.

Work done for you through this website is work by a law practice, so a complaint about it belongs with the Legal Services Commissioner. You can also read how we work for what we tell clients about costs and communication at the outset.

A complaint about police conduct is different again and goes to the NSW Police Force or to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission rather than to the OLSC.

Where to send a complaint

Address a formal complaint to Jameson Law and say plainly that it is a complaint.

[email protected]

Enquiries

Through the form on our contact page, if you would rather not send an email.

Who you are contacting

AVO Defence Lawyers is an informational website about apprehended violence orders in New South Wales. Legal services are provided by Jameson Law.

Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner

olsc.nsw.gov.au, free call 1800 242 958, or GPO Box 4460, Sydney NSW 2001

Professional standards

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation