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. Most problems are fixed fastest by telling us directly, and telling us early usually costs you nothing but the time it takes to write it down.

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, its service is free 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. A good many 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.

Put it in writing if you can, through the contact page. 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.

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.

Send it through the contact page and say plainly that it is a formal complaint, so that it is not dealt with as a general enquiry.

A complaint about a particular person is not looked at by that person. You do not have to name anyone to make a complaint, and you do not have to complain to the firm at all before going to the Legal Services Commissioner.

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. That is treated as a costs dispute and it runs to a much shorter time limit than a complaint about service.

How long we will take

We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within five business days of receiving it, and tell you who is looking at it.

We aim to give you a substantive written response within 28 days. If it is going to take longer — because a file has to be reviewed in full, or because someone involved is away — we will tell you within those 28 days, explain why and say when you can expect an answer.

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. Raising a complaint does not stop work on your matter.

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 has to be in writing. It must identify the lawyer or law practice it is about and describe the conduct complained of. You can lodge it through the OLSC online portal, on its complaint form, or by letter or email. The current form, portal link and postal 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. That is done through costs assessment, a separate process under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.

Time limits on a complaint

A complaint about conduct should generally be made within three years of the conduct complained about. The Commissioner has a discretion to accept a late complaint in limited circumstances, so do not assume a late complaint is automatically refused — but do not rely on the discretion either.

A costs dispute has a much shorter limit. It must generally be made within 60 days after the legal costs become payable, or within 30 days after a request for an itemised bill is complied with. The Commissioner may still deal with a late costs dispute lodged within four months after that limit where there is a sufficient reason for the delay, though not, as a rule, once the practice has started court proceedings to recover the costs.

Because those limits are short, a bill you are unhappy with is worth raising straight away rather than after the matter finishes.

These limits are about complaining. They have nothing to do with a date running in your neighbour dispute. If a fencing notice has been served, or a tribunal or court has given you a date, that runs on its own timetable and a complaint does not pause it.

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 — at least 21 days — 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: the OLSC says on its own website that it is not uncommon for a complaint to take six months to a year to finalise, and sometimes longer.

What the Commissioner cannot do

The Commissioner 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 or tribunal proceedings are still on foot. It does not deal with complaints about judges or court staff.

It also does not deal with your neighbour. A complaint about the conduct of the household next door is not a matter for the Legal Services Commissioner, and nor is a complaint about how a council, NCAT, the Local Court or the Land and Environment Court has handled your matter. Each of those bodies has its own complaints process.

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.

Where to send a complaint

Raise a complaint about the service you have received through the contact page, and say plainly that it is a complaint so that it is not treated as a general enquiry.

Enquiries and requests

Through the form on our contact page. Say plainly what kind of request it is so that it reaches the right person.

Who you are contacting

Neighbour Dispute Lawyers is an informational website about neighbour and boundary disputes in New South Wales. Legal services are provided by Jameson Law. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner

Inquiry line 1800 242 958 (toll free within Australia) or (02) 9377 1800. Complaints must be in writing — see olsc.nsw.gov.au.