Matter Budget & Hourly Billing Calculator — Australia

Commercial litigation partners often charge $600–$800/hr in major capitals, senior associates $400–$500, juniors $250–$320. Property/conveyancing runs lower — partners $450–$550, juniors $200–$250. Family law sits in the middle; criminal trial advocacy can match commercial litigation rates for senior counsel. Rates vary widely by firm tier, jurisdiction, and matter complexity — use the calculator as a benchmark and adjust to your firm's economics.

Write-down is a deliberate reduction of WIP before invoicing — the time was recorded but the firm chooses to bill less, usually because the matter ran over budget or the client relationship justifies a discount. Write-off is post-invoice — the invoice was issued and is now uncollectible, so it's removed from accounts receivable. Most firms target a write-down rate (10–15% is common) and treat anything above 20% as a budget-management failure.

Blended rate is the average hourly rate across a matter weighted by fee earner. A matter with 10 partner hours @ $700 and 40 junior hours @ $280 has a blended rate of (10×700 + 40×280) / 50 = $364. Clients increasingly request a blended quote upfront because it's simpler than tiered hourly rates and rewards firms that delegate appropriately. The calculator shows your blended rate so you can sanity-check it against client expectations.

In NSW and VIC (Uniform Law states), costs disclosure is mandatory when legal costs are likely to exceed $750 (basic disclosure) or $3,000 (full disclosure including a written costs agreement and the matter scope). Other states have their own thresholds under state Legal Profession Acts. Failing to disclose voids the costs agreement and limits recovery to what the court determines fair and reasonable — usually well below the WIP. Issue a costs agreement before substantive work begins on every fee-bearing matter.

Fixed fees suit well-defined, repetitive matters with predictable scope: simple conveyancing, basic wills, uncontested probate, standard employment contracts. The risk to the firm is scope creep — fixed-fee matters need tight scope statements and a clear change-request mechanism. For litigation, complex M&A, or family-law disputes, hourly billing remains the default because outcomes and effort are too uncertain to price up front.

Yes — legal services attract 10% GST, with a few narrow exceptions (some pro bono / community legal centre work, certain disbursements like court filing fees that are exempt or input-taxed). Disbursements are usually GST-inclusive when charged to the client and need to be itemised. The calculator displays both ex-GST and GST-inclusive totals so you can show clients the full payable.