Complaints

If something has gone wrong

This page explains how to raise a problem about the legal service you received, and where to take it if our answer does not resolve it. It also explains where to complain about a builder, which is a different path entirely.

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 the email.

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.

First, which complaint is this?

Two different complaints get confused on a page like this, and they go to different bodies.

A complaint about the legal service — the advice, the communication, the bill, the conduct of your matter — is what the rest of this page is about. It goes to the law practice and, if that does not resolve it, to the Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner.

A complaint about the building work or the builder is different. That goes to Building Commission NSW, which runs a complaint service for building work and can send an inspector to look at the specific items in dispute and, where appropriate, issue a rectification order. For most home building disputes, that referral is also a step you have to take before NCAT will accept an application.

If your problem is with a contractor rather than with a lawyer, start at home owners or building defects. This page will not get you there.

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.

You can do this by telephone on (02) 8806 0866 or by email to [email protected]. 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.

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, or write to the Jameson Law head office, Suite 301, 67-69 Philip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150.

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, and it does not stop the deadlines in your matter running either.

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 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. 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 the deadlines in your building matter. A statutory warranty claim runs from completion of the work, and the periods under the Security of Payment legislation run from service of the claim — see statutory warranties and payment claims.

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 complaints about building work. A complaint that a builder has done defective or incomplete work goes to Building Commission NSW, and a dispute about payment or rectification is decided by NCAT or a court rather than by a legal regulator.

Work done for you by this firm 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 about this firm

These are the published contact details of Jameson Law. Address a formal complaint to the firm and say plainly that it is a complaint.

Telephone

(02) 8806 0866

[email protected]

Jameson Law head office

Suite 301, 67-69 Philip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150

Jameson Law, Sydney CBD

Level 35, Tower One, International Towers, 100 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000

Other Jameson Law offices

Blacktown, Liverpool and Bankstown, by appointment

Professional standards

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation