Knowing the difference between fees and costs may affect your decision to bring or continue a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia. A general outline is given here - if you have any further queries you should seek legal advice.
Fees
Fees are set out in the Federal Court of Australia Regulations 2004. The Regulations are made by the Federal Government. They impose filing fees, setting down fees and hearing fees for an application or appeal filed in the Court. These Court fees are different from the fees that lawyers charge their clients.
Parties may employ lawyers (barristers or solicitors) to represent them in a proceeding. These lawyers usually charge their clients for their services (fees) and expenses that they have paid on the client's behalf (disbursements). Disbursements may include Court fees. Together these charges are known as costs.
The usual rule is that at the end of a proceeding the unsuccessful party pays the costs (ie the fees and disbursements) of the other party. For example, in a migration matter, if the applicant is unsuccessful, the usual rule is that they will be ordered to pay the costs of the Minister. If the Minister is unsuccessful, the usual rule is that they will be ordered to pay the costs of the applicant.
A person who is exempt from payment of Court fees or who has had these fees waived can still be ordered to pay the costs of another party.
The amount of costs that an unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay is usually limited to the amount set out in the scale found in Schedule 2 of the Federal Court Rules. A Registrar of the Court will usually be involved in the calculation of this amount.
