Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsScope
(1) This section applies to proceedings (including an appeal) in a court that relate to an application made by a person (the applicant ) under section 46PO in respect of one or more respondents to a terminated complaint.
When respondent liable for costs
(2) Subject to subsection (4), if the applicant is successful in proceedings on one or more grounds, the court must order each respondent against whom the applicant is successful to pay the applicant's costs.
(3) The court may order that the costs to be paid by the respondent be assessed on an indemnity basis or otherwise.
(4) If the court is satisfied that the applicant's unreasonable act or omission caused the applicant to incur costs, the court is not required to order the respondent to pay the costs incurred as a result of that act or omission.
When applicant liable for costs
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the applicant must not be ordered by the court to pay costs incurred by another party to the proceedings.
(6) The applicant may be ordered to pay the costs if:
(a) the court is satisfied that the applicant instituted the proceedings vexatiously or without reasonable cause; or
(b) the court is satisfied that the applicant's unreasonable act or omission caused the other party to incur the costs; or
(c) all of the following apply:
(i) the other party is a respondent who was successful in the proceedings;
(ii) the respondent does not have a significant power advantage over the applicant;
(iii) the respondent does not have significant financial or other resources relative to the applicant.
Representative applications
(7) In the case of a representative application, subsection (6) does not authorise the court concerned to award costs against a person on whose behalf the application is made other than the person who made the application.