Public Liability Claims In Perth, Explained For 2026

Yes. If you were hurt in a public place in Perth because someone didn’t keep it reasonably safe, you can most likely make a public liability claim. The harder question isn’t whether you can claim. It’s how much you’ll actually recover, because Western Australia works differently from the eastern states.

WA has no injury-scale calculator. Under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA), pain and suffering is assessed against a threshold. For 2025-26, if that part of your claim is worth about $26,500 or less, you recover nothing for it. I’m Rebecca Sorgiovanni. I’ve acted for injured people in WA since 1997, and this is how these claims really work here, not how a Queensland article says they do.

A public liability claim is a compensation claim you make when you’re injured in a place someone else was responsible for keeping safe, like a shop, gym, footpath, or car park, and they didn’t do that. In WA it runs on common law negligence and the Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA). It sits under the wider umbrella of a personal injury claim in Perth, alongside car accident and workers compensation claims.

What is a public liability claim?

It’s a claim against the person or organisation that controlled a space, for an injury their carelessness caused. Think of an occupier who let a hazard sit there: a supermarket, a landlord, a council, a gym operator. If they should have fixed or warned about the danger and didn’t, and you got hurt, that’s the claim.

The money doesn’t come from that business directly. It comes from their public liability insurer. That matters, because you’re really negotiating with an insurance company, and they do this every day.

Common public liability examples in Perth

Most of my public liability files start with one of a handful of situations:

• A wet or recently mopped supermarket floor with no warning sign.
• A cracked or lifted footpath slab managed by a local council.
• A loose tile, torn mat, or unlit step in a shopping centre or office foyer.
• Faulty equipment or poor supervision at a gym. If you were injured at a gym, the operator’s duty is a live issue.
• A child hurt on broken play equipment in a council park.
• A slip or fall in a car park, stairwell, or entryway.

The common thread isn’t the injury. It’s control. Whoever controlled that space had a duty to take reasonable care, and the question is whether they met it.

Do you have a valid claim? Four things you must prove

You need four things, and all four have to hold up:

1. Someone owed you a duty of care (they controlled the space or activity).
2. They breached that duty (they did something unsafe, or failed to fix or warn about a hazard).
3. That breach caused your injury (not something unrelated).
4. You suffered a real, provable loss (medical records, wages, receipts).

The one people get wrong is causation. A hazard being present isn’t enough. You have to link it to the injury, which is why photos taken on the day and an incident report signed by staff are worth more than any statement written weeks later. I’ve run these claims for decades, and they almost always turn on one question: did the occupier take reasonable care in a public or shared space? Get that link right, backed by evidence, and the rest tends to follow. And if the facts don’t stack up, we’ll tell you at the first meeting rather than push you into a case that isn’t worth running.

Public liability vs other personal injury claims

Personal injury is the umbrella. Public liability is one type under it, for injuries in public or shared spaces. A car crash is a motor vehicle claim through ICWA. A workplace injury is workers compensation. A fall in a shopping centre is public liability. The difference between personal injury and public liability decides which law applies, which insurer pays, and which deadlines you’re up against, so getting the category right early actually changes the strategy.

How much compensation can you get in WA in 2026?

There’s no fixed figure, and anyone who quotes one before seeing your medical evidence is guessing. No lawyer can promise how a claim will end, and any firm offering a guaranteed result or a set payout up front is one to be wary of. What I can tell you is what you can claim for:

What you can claim	What it covers
General damages (pain and suffering)	Physical pain, mental distress, loss of enjoyment of life. Subject to the WA threshold and deductible below.
Loss of earnings	Wages already lost, plus reduced capacity to earn in future if the injury lasts.
Medical and treatment costs	Ambulance, hospital, surgery, physiotherapy, medication, and travel to appointments.
Care and rehabilitation	In-home help, rehab, mobility aids, home modifications, and some unpaid (gratuitous) care above a set threshold.
Out-of-pocket expenses	Other reasonable costs tied to the injury.

This is where Queensland-based articles mislead a WA reader. WA doesn’t use the ISV. Pain and suffering is assessed under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA), which sets a threshold and a sliding deductible. The Insurance Commission of WA publishes the current figures. For 2025-26:

• If your pain and suffering is assessed at or below about $26,500, you’re awarded nothing for it.
• Above that, a deductible applies and shrinks as the assessed amount rises.
• The deductible disappears once the assessed amount passes roughly $103,000.
• The maximum for the most severe cases is $501,000.

So a minor sprain from a slip might clear almost nothing in pain and suffering, even with a clear-cut hazard. That surprises people. It’s also why, in most public liability claims, the real money isn’t pain and suffering at all. It’s loss of earning capacity and future care. If your injury keeps you off work or changes what you can earn, that’s usually the larger part of the claim. A broken wrist that heals is one thing. A broken wrist that ends a trade career is another.

The claim process with a Perth injury lawyer

The process is less about paperwork and more about timing. Evidence disappears fast, so the order matters:

First, get medical help and have every injury recorded, including the minor ones. Some injuries surface later, and an unrecorded injury is an easy target for an insurer to dispute.

Second, keep your evidence: photos of the hazard, names and numbers of witnesses, the incident report from the store or council, and receipts. If you can’t, ask someone to do it for you.

Third, talk to a lawyer early. Most public liability lawyers, including us, offer a free first consultation. Early advice matters most for one reason: CCTV. Supermarkets and shopping centres routinely overwrite footage within weeks. When we take a file, requesting that footage before it’s wiped is often the first thing we do, followed by witness statements, a review of your medical records, and, where needed, independent expert reports on your injury and your future work capacity.

Fourth, we negotiate with the occupier’s insurer. Most claims settle here. Your case only heads to court if the offer on the table is worse than what you’re owed, and even then, plenty resolve before a hearing.

How long do you have to make a claim?

For adults, you generally have three years from the date of the injury to start court action, under the Limitation Act 2005 (WA). Miss it, and you usually lose the right to sue.

Situation	Deadline to start court action
Adults	3 years from the date of injury
Injured at 15, 16 or 17	Generally before you turn 21
Younger children or legal incapacity	Different rules; a court can sometimes extend
Injury you couldn’t reasonably have known about	3 years from when you knew, or should have known

One WA difference works in your favour. Queensland makes you lodge a formal Notice of Claim within nine months or explain the delay. WA has no equivalent hoop for public liability. The deadline that really counts is the three-year limit to start proceedings. That gives you room to let an injury stabilise before you value the claim, but it isn’t a reason to wait, because the time limits on a public liability claim are strict and evidence fades long before the clock runs out.

What No Win No Fee actually costs you

It means no legal fees are payable unless your claim succeeds. If we don’t win, you don’t pay our professional fees. If we do win, we pursue party-and-party costs from the insurer, which covers the majority of your legal costs, and the balance is agreed and disclosed upfront in the no win, no fee retainer. The first consultation is free either way, and there’s no charge if you decide not to proceed. We also do home and hospital visits if you can’t travel to our Perth CBD or Baldivis office.

When a public liability claim is made against your business

If you run a cafe, shop, gym, or event, you owe a duty of care to everyone who comes in. Public liability insurance isn’t compulsory for every WA business, but tradespeople, hospitality venues, and market or event operators are often required to hold it before they can work or trade. If someone’s hurt on your premises, three things protect you: act fast, notify your insurer straight away so they can run the response, and get legal advice before you admit anything or sign anything. What you do when a claim is made against you in the first week often shapes the whole outcome.

If you’ve been injured in a public place in Perth, or you’re facing a claim over one, it’s worth getting advice early. The three-year limitation period runs from the date of injury, and CCTV is often overwritten within weeks, so the practical window can be shorter than the legal one. Soul Legal offers a free, confidential first chat on (08) 6558 1786, with a lawyer who has acted in WA public liability matters since 1997.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a public liability claim in Perth if there were no warning signs?

Often, yes. A missing warning sign, like no wet-floor sign after mopping, is one of the clearest signs an occupier failed to take reasonable care. You still have to prove the hazard caused your injury, so photos from the day and an incident report help.

How much does a public liability claim pay in WA?

There’s no fixed amount. Pain and suffering is assessed under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA), and for 2025-26 you recover nothing for it if it’s assessed at about $26,500 or less. In most claims the larger part is lost income and future care, not pain and suffering.

How long do I have to make a public liability claim in WA?

Adults generally have three years from the date of the injury to start court action under the Limitation Act 2005 (WA). Children injured at 15, 16 or 17 usually must start before they turn 21. Waiting is risky because evidence like CCTV disappears within weeks.

Do I have to send a notice of claim first, like in Queensland?

No. Unlike Queensland’s nine-month Notice of Claim, WA has no mandatory pre-court notice step for public liability. The main deadline is the three-year limit to begin proceedings.

Who can I claim against for a footpath injury?

Usually the local council or the body that controls that stretch of footpath. The claim is really against their public liability insurer. You’ll need to show they knew or should have known about the hazard and didn’t fix or warn about it in reasonable time.

What should my business do if someone is injured on the premises?

Act quickly, notify your public liability insurer straight away, and get legal advice before admitting fault or signing anything. What you do in the first week often shapes the outcome.