Recreational injury compensation · Queensland
Recreational injury? Here’s how a claim works.
Theme parks, tours, watersports, gyms, scuba, ballooning and horse riding. You may still have a claim even if you signed a waiver.
The clock starts on the day you’re hurt
Queensland time limits · not to scale
- Day 0 The incident Photograph the equipment and the site, and keep your booking, waiver and briefing notes.
- First weekGood practice Lock in the evidence Ride logs, maintenance records and CCTV are overwritten quickly. We ask for them to be kept.
- 9 months PIPA Notice of Claim Serve Part 1, or within 1 month of instructing a lawyer once the respondent is identified, if earlier.
- 3 years Court proceedings Proceedings must start within 3 years of the injury.
- 9 months to give notice
- No-obligation first consultation
- No win, no fee*
- We set out our costs in writing at the start.
Claim types
Recreational claims we handle
Twelve kinds of recreational injury claim, against operators, venues, schools and equipment makers.
Searches 12 claim pages
Nothing here matches that. It may still be a claim: call 1300 529 529 and tell us what happened.
- Jet ski injuries Poor briefings, machine defects and operator duties on the water.
- Gym injuries Defective equipment, unsafe programs, instructor error and poor supervision.
- Scuba diving injuries Regulator failure, contaminated gas and poor instructor supervision.
- Skydiving, bungee & paragliding Operators raise the dangerous recreational activity defence. It has limits.
- Rock climbing & abseiling Guides must take reasonable care, and a waiver doesn’t automatically excuse a failure.
- Adventure & school camps A school can’t escape its duty by handing the activity to a camp operator.
- Theme parks Rides, other guests, supervision and defective equipment.
- Tours & excursions Every service on a tour must be delivered with due care and skill.
- Paid watersports Operators must meet safety standards and live up to their brochure.
- Indoor recreational centres Injuries from other participants, poor supervision or defects.
- Hot air balloons & ultralights Operator error, defective aircraft, landing sites and weather calls.
- Horse riding Defective tack, and horses not matched to the rider’s experience.
Our approach
Built for recreational claims
Operators rely on waivers and on the Civil Liability Act’s defences for obvious risks and dangerous recreational activities. Each has limits. We read every waiver against the Act and route the claim to the right defendant: the operator, the equipment maker or the venue.
- 01Every waiver read against the Civil Liability Act
- 02Operator, equipment maker and venue assessed together
- 03Ride logs, maintenance records and CCTV preserved early
- 04No upfront legal fees
- 05You deal directly with your lawyer
Compensation
What you can claim
What your claim can include. Each head is valued separately.
- Pain and suffering
- General damages, assessed on Queensland’s Injury Scale Value.
- Lost income
- Past and future earnings and superannuation.
- Treatment costs
- Medical and rehabilitation costs.
- Care and assistance
- Paid care, and help from family once it reaches 6 hours a week for 6 months.
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Travel, equipment and other expenses the injury caused.
Our process
From first call to final settlement
- No obligation First call We match the activity to the right law and regulator on the first call.
- First week Evidence lockdown Preservation requests for ride logs, maintenance, briefing records and CCTV before they’re overwritten.
- Within 9 months Defendant routing Operator, equipment maker and venue assessed together, so each gets a compliant PIPA notice on time.
- Before court Resolution Many matters resolve by negotiation or at the compulsory conference. We prepare every file for trial.
FAQ
Common questions
Not necessarily. A waiver is read strictly and covers only what it clearly says. CLA s.15 and CLA s.19 limit operator liability for obvious risks and dangerous recreational activity, but they do not cover every failure in briefing, equipment or supervision. Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) s 139A also restricts how far a recreational services warranty can be excluded.
The court decides on the facts. Jet skiing, off-piste activities and some adventure tours can fall in; gym sessions and guided tours usually do not. The label matters because CLA s.19 changes the test.
The Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 requires a Notice of Claim within strict timeframes, generally 9 months from the incident, or 1 month after you instruct a lawyer and the respondent is identified, whichever is earlier. The overall limitation period is 3 years. Move early.
Pain and suffering, past and future income, medical and rehabilitation, care and assistance, and out-of-pocket expenses. Quantum depends on the injury, the activity and the at-fault party.
Hurt on a ride, a tour or in the water?
A waiver may not end your claim. Talk to us first; there’s no obligation to go ahead.