563Consequences of prohibited conduct for legal practitioners

563 Consequences of prohibited conduct for legal practitioners (1) A legal practitioner who acts for a person on a claim must not include in any bill given to the person, and must not otherwise seek to recover from the person, any amount by way of disbursements for fees paid to an agent in connection with referral of the person to the legal practitioner by the agent if the legal practitioner knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that the agent engaged in prohibited conduct that involved encouraging the person to make the claim, regardless of whether the agent has been proceeded against or convicted for an offence in respect of that prohibited conduct. (2) A legal practitioner who acts for a person on a claim is not entitled to recover from any person any amount by way of disbursements for fees paid to an agent in connection with the claim if the claim was made as a result of prohibited conduct engaged in by the agent, regardless of whether the agent has been proceeded against or convicted for an offence in respect of that prohibited conduct. (3) If prohibited conduct engaged in by an agent involved encouraging a person to make a claim and the person makes a claim after the conduct is engaged in, it is to be presumed for the purposes of subsection (2) that the claim was made as a result of that prohibited conduct unless the legal practitioner establishes otherwise. (4) If a claim under Division 5 of Part 5 of this Act or Division 2A of Part IV of the **Accident Compensation Act 1985** for a diminution of hearing was made as a result of prohibited conduct engaged in by an agent, it is to be presumed for the purposes of subsection (2) that any subsequent claim for further diminution of hearing made by the same worker (whether or not made against the same employer) in connection with which that agent performed any service was made as a result of prohibited conduct engaged in by that agent, unless the legal practitioner concerned establishes otherwise. (5) A person who has paid any amount in respect of disbursements to a legal practitioner that the legal practitioner would not have been entitled to recover because of subsection (2) is entitled to recover the amount from the legal practitioner as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.