PART 18: COSTS

150. Definitions

151. Basis of assessment

152. Form of bill of costs

153. Electronic filing of bills of costs for assessment

154. Objections

155. Amount allowed as disbursements on account of use of Electronic Filing Service

156. Assessments involving the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid

157. Fixing costs instead of ordering assessment

150. Definitions

Where the words and phrases set out in Part 22, Rule 1(2) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 are used in this Part, they shall have the same meaning as defined in Part 22, Rule 1(2) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024, unless otherwise specified.

151. Basis of assessment

Every bill of costs to be assessed pursuant to a judgment or order of Court must be filed together with a copy of the judgment or order of Court. Where an order for assessment is not required under the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024, the bill of costs shall describe succinctly in its heading the basis of assessment. A bill of costs for assessment between a solicitor and his or her client pursuant to section 120(3) of the Legal Profession Act 1966 must be filed together with a copy of the document signifying the consent of the parties to assessment.

152. Form of bill of costs

The attention of solicitors is drawn to Part 22, Rules 2(2) and 23 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024. In addition, solicitors are to abide by the following requirements:

Margins

(a) A blank margin not less than 10mm wide on all four sides is required for each page of the bill of costs.

Pagination

(b) Every page of a bill of costs must be paginated consecutively at the centre top of the page.

Format

(c) This sub-paragraph sets out the format of a bill of costs.

Party-and-party bills

(i) For party-and-party bills:

(A) A bill of costs drawn up for assessment of costs between one party to proceedings and another should be divided into 3 separate sections as required by Part 22, Rule 23(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.

(B) Form 140 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions should be used for contentious business in respect of work done for a trial or in contemplation of a trial.

(C) Form 141 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions should be used for contentious business in respect of, or in contemplation of, work done other than for a trial; such as work done for an appeal or for a specific interlocutory application.

(D) Form 142 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions should be used for non-contentious business.

Specimen bills

(ii) Specimen bills illustrating the use of Forms 140, 141 and 142 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions are found in Appendix E of these Practice Directions.

Solicitor-and-client bills

(iii) A bill of costs drawn up for assessment of costs between a solicitor and his or her client should be drawn up in the same manner described in sub-paragraph (c)(i) except as follows:

(A) A solicitor will be deemed to have indicated that all items included in the bill are in relation to work done or disbursements incurred with the approval of the client.

(B) Any agreement, whether oral or in writing, between the solicitor and his or her client relating to the amount of costs payable either as a global sum or in respect of particular items included in the bill should be indicated on the bill. Any agreement between the solicitor and his or her client as to the rate to be used to compute the solicitor’s costs should also be indicated in the bill.

Particulars

(d) Sufficient particulars must be included in the bill of costs so as to enable the Registrar to exercise his or her discretion under Part 22, Rule 2(2) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024. Without limiting sub-paragraph (c), the Registrar may, at the assessment hearing, order the claiming or receiving party to furnish full details in support of the sums claimed under the bill.

Goods and services tax

(e) A party claiming goods and services tax (GST) in a bill of costs must comply with the directions set out in this sub-paragraph. A party who fails to comply with the directions set out in this sub-paragraph will be presumed not to be claiming GST in the bill concerned.

Registration numbers

(i) For registration numbers:

(A) The GST registration number allocated by the Comptroller of Goods and Services Tax to the solicitors for the receiving party or parties should appear at the top left hand corner of the first page of the bill of costs.

(B) The GST registration numbers, if any, allocated to the receiving parties or to any one or more of them, as the case may be, must also appear at the same location in all documents.

(C) The GST registration numbers should be indicated as follows: “GST Reg. No. (solicitors for applicant / solicitors for respondent / (or as the case may be)): xxxxx.”

(D) Where no GST registration number has been allocated to a receiving party, a statement to this effect should be included after the GST registration numbers of the solicitors for the receiving parties, or the receiving parties, as the case may be, in the following manner: “Applicant / Respondent / (or as the case may be): no GST Reg. No.”

Input tax allowable

(ii) The proportion of input tax for which the receiving parties, or one or more of them, are not entitled to credit should be stated, as a percentage, in parentheses after the GST registration number of the party or parties concerned. For a person who is not liable to be registered within the meaning of the First Schedule to the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, this proportion should be 100%.

Apportionment

(iii) For apportionment:

(A) The first and second sections of the bill of costs, which set out the work done in the cause or matter except for assessment of costs and the work done for and in the assessment of costs, should each be divided into such number of parts as will enable the bill to reflect the different rates of GST applicable during the relevant period of time.

(B) The third section, which sets out the disbursements made in the cause or matter, should similarly be divided, with the first part setting out the disbursements on which no GST is chargeable by the solicitors for the receiving party or the receiving party, as the case may be.

Summary of the GST claimed for work done

(iv) Where applicable, the following information should be included at the end of the first and of the second sections:

(A) the global sum of costs claimed for work done during each period for which a different rate of GST applies or no GST applies;

(B) the proportion, as a percentage, of input tax for which the receiving parties, or one or more of them, are not entitled to credit;

(C) a quantification of the input tax on the costs claimed in the section concerned for which the receiving parties, or one or more of them, are not entitled to credit; and

(D) a quantification of the GST claimed on the costs claimed in the section concerned.

Summary of the GST claimed for disbursements

(v) Where applicable, the following information should be included at the end of the third section:

(A) a summation of the disbursements on which no GST is chargeable by the solicitors for the receiving party or the receiving party, as the case may be;

(B) a summation of the disbursements on which GST at the applicable rate is chargeable by the solicitors for the receiving party or the receiving party, as the case may be;

(C) the proportion, as a percentage, of input tax for which the receiving parties, or one or more of them, are not entitled to credit;

(D) a quantification of the input tax on the disbursements on which GST is chargeable by the solicitors for the receiving party for which the receiving parties, or one or more of them, are not entitled to credit; and

(E) a quantification of the GST claimed on the disbursements.

Registrar’s certificate

(vi) The total amount of GST allowed on a bill of costs will be indicated as a separate item in the Registrar’s certificate. Solicitors are responsible for ensuring that the GST figures accurately reflect the sums allowed by the Registrar.

153. Electronic filing of bills of costs for assessment

(1) Each bill of costs submitted to the Court through the Electronic Filing Service must:

(a) be in Portable Document Format (PDF);

(b) comply with paragraph 152 of these Practice Directions; and

(c) be accompanied by a bill of costs summary, the electronic form of which will be composed online through the Electronic Filing Service. The information required by the Electronic Filing Service to compose the bill of costs summary includes the costs claimed under sections 1, 2 and 3 of the bill of costs.

(2) As the Registrar’s certificate of costs under Part 22, Rule 28 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 will be composed online based on the summary in sub-paragraph 1(c), solicitors should ensure that the information contained in the summary accurately reflects the information contained in the bill of costs submitted. Solicitors should also ensure that the amounts claimed for GST in the summary are correct.

(3) There is no necessity for solicitors to collect the assessed bill of costs from the Registry to prepare the Registrar’s certificate. The procedure for preparation of draft orders in paragraph 142 of these Practice Directions will, with the necessary modifications, apply to the preparation of the Registrar’s certificate.

(4) The Registrar’s certificate must be composed online through the Electronic Filing Service.

154. Objections

(1) Any objections in principle or as to quantum of the items claimed in a bill of costs must be indicated by the filing and service of a Notice of Dispute on Bill of Costs in Form 143 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions at least 7 days before the date fixed by the Registrar for the assessment of the bill of costs.

(2) The Notice of Dispute on Bill of Costs must be filed through the Electronic Filing Service in PDF and be accompanied by a Notice of Dispute summary, the electronic form of which will be composed online through the Electronic Filing Service. The information required by the Electronic Filing Service to compose the Notice of Dispute summary includes the amounts of costs to be awarded under sections 1, 2 and 3 of the bill of costs according to the paying party.

155. Amount allowed as disbursements on account of use of Electronic Filing Service

(1) If a document is filed using the Electronic Filing Service, $0.40 for each page of the document filed must be allowed as costs between parties to proceedings. Such costs may be claimed by a receiving party from the paying party where the receiving party is entitled to costs for the filing of the document. These costs must be allowed in addition to all other disbursements and Court fees.

(2) This paragraph applies to the assessment of costs as well as cases where the Court fixes a gross sum of costs instead of directing an assessment.

(3) This paragraph does not apply to any document filed through the service bureau.

156. Assessments involving the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid

(1) The directions contained in this paragraph must be followed in respect of all assessments in which the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid is involved.

(2) For all assessments in which the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid is involved:

(a) the receiving party must, prior to the filing of the bill of costs in Court through the Electronic Filing Service, send the bill of costs to be filed to the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid, as the case may be;

(b) the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid, as the case may be, should then inform the receiving party whether he or she agrees or disagrees with the amounts claimed in the bill of costs; and

(c) when filing the bill of costs in Court through the Electronic Filing Service, the receiving party must state whether the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid, as the case may be, disagrees with the amounts claimed in the bill of costs. The bill of costs should also be served on the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid, as may be applicable, on the same day that the bill of costs is filed.

(3) If the Public Trustee or the Director of Legal Aid, as the case may be, agrees with the amounts claimed in the bill of costs, then:

(a) for solicitor-and-client bills filed pursuant to the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1995 where the Director of Legal Aid is the respondent, the receiving party and the Director of Legal Aid need not attend at the assessment and the bill will be assessed in their absence. However, if the Registrar disagrees with the quantum of costs agreed on, he or she may nonetheless direct the attendance of the Director of Legal Aid and the receiving party, at a later date.

157. Fixing costs instead of ordering assessment

(1) Part 22, Rule 2(3) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 provides that:

Powers of Court (P. 22, r. 2)

…

(3) Subject to the provisions of this Part and any written law, the costs payable by any party to any other party in any matter must be fixed by the Court which heard the matter after an oral hearing or by way of written submissions from the parties, unless the Court thinks fit to direct an assessment of the costs.

Solicitors should therefore be prepared to make submissions on the entitlement to and quantum of costs at the end of a hearing or trial, whether before or after judgment is delivered.

(2) Solicitors should note that the Court may fix costs where costs have been ordered to be in the cause, or on hearing applications for dismissal or striking out pursuant to an unless order, and be prepared to make submissions accordingly.