An offer to settle your child’s injury claim can bring relief after months of treatment and uncertainty. It can also leave you wondering who may agree to it, whether your child must attend court and when the money will become available.
The central point is that your agreement as a parent is only part of the process. The proposed outcome must be considered for the child, and the arrangements for receiving and using the money must be clear. Understanding those separate decisions helps you assess an offer without treating approval as an administrative signature.
Why a child’s settlement needs separate approval
Section 59 of the Public Trustee Act 1978 provides for court or Public Trustee sanction of compromises involving a person under a legal disability, including a child. It addresses claims already in court and settlements reached before an action is brought. A sanctioned compromise is binding on the child.
This protection matters because the settlement may close the claim while its consequences will continue into adulthood. The question is whether the proposed compromise is appropriate for this child, given the evidence and risks. An insurer’s willingness to pay, or a family’s understandable need for financial relief, does not supply that assessment by itself.
Ask your lawyer to explain which approval route applies, who will make the application and how the proposed agreement deals with approval. Do this before signing a release. A small offer or an agreement described as informal should not be assumed to avoid the protection.
Who speaks for the child, and who decides?
For court proceedings, the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999, rules 93–95, provide for a litigation guardian. This is the person through whom the child conducts the proceeding. A parent may take that role, but parenthood alone does not complete the procedural appointment. The litigation guardian must meet the rules, including having no adverse interest in the proceeding.
That last requirement deserves attention where the same accident involves several family claims, or an allegation concerns a parent’s actions. It does not establish that the parent has done anything wrong. It identifies a possible conflict that needs to be considered before someone gives instructions for the child.
The litigation guardian works with the child’s solicitor and provides instructions. The approving court or Public Trustee considers the compromise. A trustee later receives and manages the money under the authorised arrangements. One person may be involved in more than one stage, but the powers at each stage must be identified.
| Role | Main question | What to clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Parent or carer | What has changed for the child? | Treatment, learning, daily function and likely support needs. |
| Litigation guardian | How should the child’s proceeding be conducted? | Appointment, instructions and any conflicting interest. |
| Independent adviser and approving authority | Is the proposed compromise appropriate for the child? | Evidence, valuation, risks, deductions and reasons for settlement. |
| Trustee | How will the child’s money be held and used? | The order, management costs, access requests and eventual release. |
The evidence should explain the child’s future
A child may have improved considerably without the long-term position being clear. The useful question is what the available evidence can now say about recovery, future treatment and function, and what remains uncertain. The treating practitioners and any appropriate experts provide the medical assessment; a parent supplies valuable observations without having to predict the prognosis.
Consider ordinary activities at the child’s stage of development. Difficulties carrying a school bag, concentrating through a lesson, joining sport or managing personal care may explain the effect of an injury more clearly than a broad description such as “not back to normal”. Record changes over time, including improvement and assistance that makes an activity possible.
School reports and attendance information can help describe a change, but a change in marks does not establish its medical cause. An interrupted school year, an unrelated learning need and an injury may overlap. Relevant evidence should allow those possibilities to be considered rather than assuming every later difficulty belongs to the accident.
Similarly, a young child’s future work cannot sensibly be assessed from a parent’s preferred career alone. An assessment needs evidence and appropriate assumptions. If a settlement is proposed while an important outcome remains uncertain, the advice should explain how that uncertainty is reflected in the offer and the alternatives.
Approval considers a compromise, not a guaranteed trial result
A claim can have strong evidence of injury but a disputed account of responsibility. Another may have clear responsibility but uncertainty about lasting loss. Both affect whether settlement is sensible. The advice should identify the actual dispute and explain the range of possible outcomes, rather than attaching an unexplained label of “good offer”.
Supreme Court Practice Direction 15 of 2018 describes supporting material for sanction applications, including independent legal advice and evidence about the compromise and costs. It also addresses arrangements for managing a child’s funds. The particular court, procedure and current requirements must be checked for the application.
A hearing to approve a settlement is a different event from a trial deciding who caused the injury. Do not assume that approval means the child must give trial evidence. Your lawyer should explain the proposed hearing, any attendance required and how the child’s circumstances will be presented.
Our settlement decision guide explains the broader offer assessment. For a child, that assessment is followed by the additional approval and fund-management safeguards described here.
Read the figures from the offer to the child’s fund
Request a clear reconciliation showing the proposed damages, any contribution towards legal costs, the costs and expenses to be paid, relevant refunds and the balance intended for the child. Identify which figures are confirmed and which remain estimates. An amount described as inclusive of costs needs a different explanation from damages plus an additional costs contribution.
The approval material should make the proposed treatment of costs transparent. A parent’s willingness to pay an invoice is not a substitute for the rules governing deductions from the child’s recovery. Ask how the costs will be assessed or approved and what happens if the eventual amount differs from the estimate.
Refund questions are separate from the reasonableness of the offer. The Medicare recovery guide explains one process that may be relevant. Do not assume a child’s claim has no repayment issue, or that every benefit paid to a family must be repaid. The actual payments and applicable rules need checking.
Where the money goes after approval
The Act controls payment of settlement money and permits court directions about its destination. It should not be assumed that the balance can simply be paid into a parent’s everyday account. The proposed order and trustee arrangements should identify who receives it, what is deducted first and how it will be managed.
The Supreme Court direction contemplates a trustee managing a child’s balance until 18, with further consideration where financial capacity may remain impaired. Other trust documents can operate differently. Read the actual arrangements before assuming a release date or that all financial control automatically changes on a particular birthday.
The Queensland Public Trustee’s minor trust guidance describes its budgeting, financial records and requests for funds. Its decisions concern the child’s direct benefit and the trust’s rules. It is one source of guidance where that office is the trustee; it does not appoint the Public Trustee to every claim.
Raise foreseeable expenses before approval, including continuing treatment or equipment. Ask how requests will be made, what supporting information is required and what management charges may apply. A need arising during childhood should be considered through the authorised process rather than assumed to be inaccessible until adulthood or freely available on request.
Illustration only: In a hypothetical school-injury claim, a teenager has returned to classes but still needs help with some daily activities. The family agrees that an offer seems sensible. Before approval, the advice addresses the medical uncertainty, disputed responsibility and deductions. The proposed order identifies a trustee and a process for treatment-expense requests. Those are separate issues: the parents’ agreement does not itself approve the compromise or authorise spending from the fund.
Approvalchild’s interests Fundsauthorised management
What to do when an offer is made
- Step 1 Confirm the claim pathway and every current notice or court deadline. Negotiations and the approval process are not reasons to leave those dates unchecked.
- Step 2 Clarify who may give instructions for the child and identify any potential conflict between family members’ interests.
- Step 3 Obtain advice on the offer using the current medical position, future uncertainties, liability evidence and realistic alternatives.
- Step 4 Review the reconciliation from the headline offer through costs, expenses and refunds to the proposed balance.
- Step 5 Read the proposed approval and trustee arrangements, including access during childhood, charges and release of the fund.
- Step 6 Keep the final approval, payment records and management contact details. Check that the implemented arrangements match what was authorised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I accept an offer on behalf of my child?
You can discuss an offer and give instructions in the appropriate role, but parental agreement does not replace the required sanction. Ask how approval will be obtained before signing. Your lawyer should also explain any conditions attached to the proposed agreement and when it becomes binding.
Does approval apply if we settle without suing?
Section 59 expressly addresses settlements before an action is brought. Resolving a claim through negotiation does not make the child’s protection irrelevant. The correct route depends on the claim and circumstances; it should be identified before money is paid or a release is treated as effective.
Do we have to wait until our child turns 18?
A child’s claim can be investigated and, where appropriate, resolved during childhood. Whether settlement is sensible depends on the evidence and future uncertainty. Earlier notice obligations also need attention. Waiting for adulthood should never be adopted as a general deadline strategy.
Can the family use the settlement for treatment now?
Potential access should be considered under the order and trustee’s powers. Explain the expense, its connection to the child’s needs and any other funding available. Keep invoices and clinical recommendations. Approval of a settlement does not give a parent unrestricted authority to spend the balance.
Will the Public Trustee always manage the money?
No universal appointment should be assumed. The Act’s payment rules and any court directions matter, and the proposed trustee must be identified. Ask who will manage the balance, why that arrangement is proposed, what it costs and how the family will communicate with the manager.
Can the claim be reopened if the injury becomes worse?
A sanctioned compromise is binding, so it should be approached as a final resolution of the claim covered by it. Later deterioration is a reason to examine prognosis carefully before settlement, not to assume a second claim will be available. Any proposed exception requires specific legal advice.
Sources and further reading
- Public Trustee Act 1978 (Qld), section 59: sanction, payment, binding effect and costs; linked above.
- Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), rules 93–95 and 98: litigation guardians and compromises; linked above.
- Supreme Court Practice Direction 15 of 2018, including the child-order provisions and supporting-material checklist; linked above.
- Queensland Public Trustee, Our minor trust service: management and requests for funds; linked above.
- School injury claims in Queensland: the earlier liability and evidence questions.
Help assessing a child’s proposed settlement
If you have an offer for your child’s injury claim, contact Carter Capner Law with the offer, medical information and any proposed release. We can discuss the assessment, approval pathway and arrangements for the child’s money.
This guide provides general information about Queensland law. It is not legal advice for your circumstances. Claim-specific procedures, time limits and professional advice remain necessary.