An injury, care and expense diary is an ordinary record of care hours, appointments, costs and work disruption. It can support evidence of loss. Whether any item can be recovered depends on the law and the facts, which a lawyer must assess.
Recording care hours
Note the extra care you provide beyond what any child of the same age would need, such as therapy exercises, medication, tube feeding, repositioning, overnight waking or close supervision. Record who provided the care and roughly how long it took.
You do not need to log every minute indefinitely. A detailed record over representative weeks, combined with ongoing notes about changes, is often more useful than an exhausting daily log.
Tracking appointments and travel
For each appointment, record the date, the provider, its purpose, travel distance, parking, and any time taken off work. This also helps you build an accurate medical timeline and identify records your lawyer may need to request.
Keeping receipts
Keep receipts for medication, therapy gaps, equipment, consumables, travel and accommodation linked to treatment. Photograph paper receipts and store them by month or by category. Note whether any cost was reimbursed by Medicare, private health insurance or the NDIS.
- Pharmacy and consumables receipts
- Therapy invoices and gap payments
- Fuel, parking and accommodation costs for treatment
- Equipment purchases and repairs
Effects on work
Record leave taken, reduced hours, roles declined or careers paused because of care responsibilities. Pay slips, leave records and letters from employers can support these notes. Whether a parent's lost income can be claimed varies, so record it and leave the legal question to your lawyer.
Privacy and safe storage
Diaries can contain sensitive health information about your child and other family members. Store them securely, back up digital copies, and avoid sharing them on social media. Write factually; diaries may be disclosed to the other side during a claim.
For your next conversation
- A dated care log covering representative weeks
- An appointment and travel record
- Receipts sorted by month or category
- Employer leave records or pay slips
- A secure backup location for digital copies
Common questions
Should I write down how I feel in the care diary?
Keep the main diary factual, recording care, costs and events. Emotional reflections are valid, but they are better kept in a separate private journal, because a care diary may be shown to the other party. Talk to your lawyer about how any personal writing might be used.
Does keeping receipts mean I will be reimbursed?
Not necessarily. Receipts help prove what was spent, but whether a cost can be recovered depends on the law, the facts and whether the expense relates to the injury. Some payments may also need to be repaid to Medicare from compensation.
Sources & further reading
These references support the topic’s starting points. They do not determine the facts, standard of care or law applicable to an individual matter.