Contents
1. About these terms 2. Our services 3. Costs and fees 4. Disbursements and government fees 5. Payment terms 6. Online payments 7. Self-service products 8. Immigration services — important notices 9. Confidentiality and privacy 10. Conflicts of interest 11. Your obligations as client 12. Termination of engagement 13. Limitation of liability 14. Complaints and disputes 15. General 16. Contact detailsThese Terms of Engagement ("Terms") govern the legal and migration services provided by Bourne Law ("we", "us", "our") to you ("Client", "you"). By engaging our services, either through our website, by telephone, in person, or by any electronic means, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
These Terms, together with any Costs Agreement or Engagement Letter issued to you, form the contract between Bourne Law and you. In the event of any inconsistency, the Costs Agreement or Engagement Letter prevails.
We are a Queensland law practice regulated by the Queensland Law Society. Our migration services are provided by a registered migration agent under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), MARA registration LPN 5511816.
Bourne Law provides legal and migration services including, but not limited to:
The specific services to be provided, and the fees for those services, will be set out in your Costs Agreement. We do not commence work on a matter until a signed Costs Agreement has been received, except for urgent matters where a written agreement will be provided as soon as practicable.
We are required under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) to provide you with a costs disclosure before or as soon as practicable after commencing your matter. This disclosure will set out the basis on which costs will be charged, an estimate of total costs where possible, and information about your rights as a client.
Where a fixed fee is offered (including self-service online products), that fee covers the specific services described. Additional services, disbursements, or significant changes in scope will be the subject of a separate fee arrangement.
For litigation, complex immigration, and other matters billed on a time basis, our current hourly rates will be set out in your Costs Agreement. Time is recorded in six-minute increments. We will provide periodic invoices and may require payment on account prior to completing certain steps.
All fees quoted on our website and in our Costs Agreements are inclusive of GST unless expressly stated otherwise. Government fees and most disbursements do not attract GST.
We will notify you if it becomes apparent that the costs are likely to exceed the estimate provided. We may not be able to continue work on your matter if you do not respond to that notification or refuse to agree to the additional costs.
Disbursements are expenses we incur on your behalf in providing our services. These include (but are not limited to):
Government fees are set by the relevant authority and may change without notice. We will advise you of the current applicable fee at the time of lodgement. We are not responsible for changes to government fees after we have provided an estimate.
Visa application fees paid to the Department of Home Affairs are non-refundable. If a visa application is refused, the government fee is not recoverable. Our professional fees may also be non-refundable once work has been undertaken — see clause 12.
Invoices are due and payable within 14 days of issue unless otherwise agreed in your Costs Agreement.
We reserve the right to charge interest on overdue amounts at the rate of 8% per annum, calculated daily from the due date.
Where we hold money on your behalf in our trust account, we will account to you for all transactions. We are required to maintain our trust account in accordance with the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) and the Legal Profession Regulation 2017 (Qld).
We may exercise a lien over your documents and files until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid. This means we may retain your documents if you have not paid our fees, subject to any obligations we have under the Legal Profession Act and under the Migration Agents Code of Conduct.
If fees remain unpaid after demand, we reserve the right to refer the matter to a debt collection agency or commence proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction. You will be responsible for all reasonable costs of recovery.
Our website accepts online payments via Stripe, a third-party payment processor. By making a payment through our website, you also agree to Stripe's terms of service.
Online payments may be used for: payment of invoices, booking and payment for consultations, and payment for self-service products. Please ensure you enter your correct invoice number and amount. We are not responsible for payments applied to the wrong invoice as a result of incorrect information entered by you.
Card details are processed directly by Stripe. Bourne Law does not store, process, or transmit your card number. Refunds, where applicable, will be processed through the same payment method and may take 5-10 business days.
Our self-service products (including but not limited to the Online Will Kit, Letter of Demand, Visa Eligibility Report, Statutory Declaration, and Character Reference Letter) are designed to assist clients with straightforward legal documents at a fixed price.
Self-service products are fixed-scope services. The fee covers preparation of the specific document described. Self-service products do not constitute ongoing legal advice, representation in proceedings, or a solicitor-client relationship beyond the specific product purchased, unless a full engagement is subsequently entered into.
Self-service products are prepared based on information you provide to us. You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all information provided. We accept no liability for documents prepared on the basis of inaccurate or incomplete instructions.
Once work has commenced on a self-service product, fees are non-refundable. Work is deemed to have commenced when we begin preparing your document, which is typically within one business day of receiving your payment and completed instructions.
Advertised turnaround times (e.g. "same day", "48hr") are estimates only and may vary based on our workload and the complexity of your instructions. Turnaround times are measured in business days (Monday to Friday, excluding Queensland public holidays).
Migration services are provided by a registered migration agent in accordance with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) Code of Conduct. You have the right to make a complaint to MARA about the conduct of a registered migration agent. Information about MARA and the Code of Conduct is available at www.mara.gov.au.
We cannot guarantee the outcome of any visa application or migration matter. Visa decisions are made by the Department of Home Affairs, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, or other relevant bodies at their absolute discretion. We will advise you honestly about the prospects of success, but a frank assessment of prospects is not a guarantee of outcome.
We will only lodge visa applications and immigration documents with your express written authority. We will not lodge any application without your review and approval of the application content. Data entry and processing will be carried out on your instructions — we do not take independent action on your behalf without your approval.
You must disclose to us any matters that may affect your character or health assessments for visa purposes. Failure to disclose relevant matters may result in refusal or cancellation of a visa. We cannot advise you fully if we do not have complete information.
If a visa application is refused, you may have review rights before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) or the Federal Circuit and Family Court. Strict time limits apply to lodging review applications. It is critical that you contact us immediately if you receive a decision notice so that we can advise you on your options.
Visa application charges are set by the Department of Home Affairs and may change without notice. Current fees are available at homeaffairs.gov.au. Fees paid to the Department are non-refundable if an application is refused or withdrawn.
We maintain strict legal professional privilege and confidentiality over all information you provide to us in the course of our engagement. We will not disclose your confidential information to third parties without your consent, except where required by law or court order.
We collect personal information from you in order to provide our legal and migration services. Your personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy (available at bournelaw.com.au/privacy.html) and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
In providing services to you, we may need to disclose your information to third parties including barristers, experts, translators, process servers, the Department of Home Affairs, courts and tribunals, and other professional advisors. We will only make such disclosures as are necessary and appropriate for the conduct of your matter.
We are required by professional rules to avoid conflicts of interest. Before commencing your matter, we will undertake a conflict check. If a conflict is identified, we will inform you and, if necessary, decline to act or take steps to manage the conflict in accordance with the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld).
You must notify us if you believe a conflict of interest may exist. We may not be able to continue acting for you if a conflict arises during the course of your matter.
In order for us to provide effective services, you must:
Delay in providing information or instructions may result in delay in your matter and may affect the outcome, including missing critical immigration deadlines. We are not responsible for adverse outcomes caused by delay or inadequate instructions on your part.
You may terminate your engagement with us at any time by written notice. You will be responsible for payment of all fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination. Where work is partially complete, we will invoice you for work done on a pro-rata or time-based basis as appropriate.
We may terminate the engagement by written notice to you if:
Where we terminate the engagement, we will give you reasonable notice and assist you to find alternative representation where required. You remain liable for fees and disbursements incurred to the date of termination.
We retain client files for a minimum of 7 years from the date of completion of the matter, in accordance with our professional obligations. After this period, files may be destroyed unless you request otherwise. You may request copies of documents from your file, subject to payment of reasonable copying and retrieval costs.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with our services is limited to the total professional fees paid by you for the specific matter to which the claim relates.
We are not liable for indirect, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of visa opportunity, or loss of business arising from the provision of our services.
Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.
We maintain professional indemnity insurance as required by the Queensland Law Society and MARA.
If you are dissatisfied with our services, please contact us at dimitri@bournelaw.com.au or call 07 55 38 38 70. We will investigate your complaint and respond within 10 business days.
If you remain dissatisfied after raising a complaint with us, you may make a complaint to the Queensland Law Society at (07) 3842 5888 or www.qls.com.au. The Queensland Law Society regulates solicitors in Queensland.
You may also lodge a complaint with the Legal Services Commissioner, an independent body that handles complaints about lawyers in Queensland. Information is available at www.lsc.qld.gov.au.
For complaints specifically about migration advice or registered migration agent conduct, you may contact MARA at www.mara.gov.au or call 1300 226 272.
If you dispute our costs, you have the right to apply for a cost assessment under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). You should seek independent legal advice about this process.
These Terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland.
These Terms, together with your Costs Agreement or Engagement Letter, constitute the entire agreement between Bourne Law and you in respect of the provision of legal and migration services. They supersede all prior discussions, representations, and agreements.
We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version is always available at bournelaw.com.au/terms.html. By continuing to engage our services after an update, you agree to the revised Terms.
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be limited to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
A failure or delay by us to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right or remedy. A waiver of any right or remedy must be in writing and signed by an authorised representative of Bourne Law.
Bourne Law
122 Bundall Road, Bundall QLD 4217
PO Box 6286, Gold Coast MC QLD 9726
T: 07 55 38 38 70
E: dimitri@bournelaw.com.au
W: bournelaw.com.au
MARA Registration: LPN 5511816
Queensland Law Society member
Last reviewed June 2026. This document does not constitute legal advice and is provided for informational purposes only. If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us before engaging our services.