Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (12:51): I welcome the opportunity to participate in debate on the Claim Farming Practices Prohibition Bill 2025. At the outset, I state that all members of this House would acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of legal practitioners are good‑living honest people who operate ethically and certainly comply with the fit and proper person standards of the Law Society of New South Wales. I particularly acknowledge those who practice in personal injury and workers compensation. For them, legal representation is not just a job but a profession they undertake to help people, as do teachers and nurses. I acknowledge it is a form of employment and income, but certainly the people I know in the legal profession, whose names I will not mention because they know who they are, have committed their lives to the enduring pursuit of helping people in some of their darkest hours.
The reality is that this legislation is required. While we have an overwhelming vast majority of good practitioners, there is always a minimal minority who may not be as professional and ethical as those of the vast majority. The legislation is before the House today because claim farming is the practice of obtaining information about a potential claimant and then pressuring them to make a civil claim. Claim farming involves a range of problematic conduct that includes getting a person's contact details without their consent; making uninvited contact with the person and pressuring or harassing them to make a claim; presenting as a claims management service, a survivor advocate organisation, or similar; selling a person's claim to a lawyer or other claim farming organisation without the person's knowledge; making promises about potential legal entitlements, which may not be accurate or in the person's best interests.
I acknowledge that many lawyers, solicitors, barristers do not charge many of their workers compensation clients at all unless there is a successful judicial outcome. Many in the legal profession who practise in this field will hold a meeting free of cost to ascertain whether the client has a case or not. The overwhelming majority will tell a victim‑survivor they do not have a case based on the application of the law relevant to the claim. It is very important that this House acknowledges the existence of ethical practice among legal practitioners as well as the honourable nature of the judiciary. Just as we in the legislature pride ourselves on how we discharge our ethical responsibilities under our code, so do lawyers under the fit and proper person test that is applied to members of the legal profession. The Government has heard reports from stakeholders that claim farmers are paying third parties from $50 to $100 for each potential new claimant the third party identifies, and that they sell claims to law practices for between $800 and $10,000.
Solicitors and barristers may pass on costs to claimants through disbursements after a claim is finalised, but that is money which should go to the claimant as compensation for the injury they suffered. As I stated earlier, those practices are unethical and have negative and traumatic impacts on people who are at the most vulnerable stage of their lives. By prohibiting claim farming in personal injury claims under the Civil Liability Act and personal injury claims arising from intentional torts, the bill will protect the community from exploitative conduct. The scope of the bill will result in creation of a new Act to prohibit the practice of claim farming in relation to certain personal injury claims under the Civil Liability Act 2002, as well as under personal injury claims arising from intentional torts.
As the Attorney General said in his second reading speech, the bill will include most common law personal injury claims, including those related to child abuse, assault, medical negligence and public and product liability. However, certain other personal injury claims are excluded from the scope of the bill. They are specified in section 3B (1) (b) to section 3B (h) of the Civil Liability Act. They include claims for dust diseases, motor accidents, workers compensation, public transport accidents, victims of crime, sporting injuries compensation and compensation under the Anti‑Discrimination Act 1977.
How will the proposed offence provisions? Specifically, the bill will create two summary offences that prohibit a person from contacting another person to encourage them to make a relevant claim with the expectation of receiving a fee or other benefit; and buying or selling a claim referral. The bill also includes appropriate exemptions to those offences to safeguard the effective provision of legal services and to protect legitimate practices that facilitate access to justice by ensuring members of the public are informed of their legal rights. It also will amend the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 to impose additional consequences on legal practitioners who engage in the prohibited conduct of claim farming.
Consultation during the development of the bill was a key priority for the Attorney General and his team. I take the opportunity to thank the Attorney General, his staff and the department, who worked very hard to ensure that we found the right balance. I also acknowledge the Opposition for supporting this legislation. I believe that when we put in place the legislative reforms needed to help all people, we see this Parliament and this Legislative Assembly operating at its best. Things of that nature may go unnoticed or unheralded, but they are ultimately very important. For Labor members of Parliament and for me personally, workers compensation and ensuring that workers are not being exploited are a priority. That said, I am confident that it is a priority for every member in this place as we continue to pursue a better outcome for workers and families throughout the State.
