Cambria Green Agriculture and Tourism Management Pty Ltd; v Attorney-General (No 2)

Cambria Green Agriculture and Tourism Management Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought leave to appeal against an order made by the primary judge that it pay the respondent's costs on an indemnity basis. The dispute arose from an application by the applicant for judicial review of a decision by the respondent. The appeal was heard by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the primary judge had erred in ordering the applicant to pay the respondent's costs on an indemnity basis, and whether this order was vitiated by a denial of procedural fairness. The applicant argued that the primary judge's decision to award indemnity costs was made without adequate notice or opportunity for the applicant to make submissions on the matter, thereby denying it procedural fairness.

The Full Court found that the primary judge had indeed denied the applicant procedural fairness. The Court reasoned that an order for indemnity costs is a significant departure from the usual order for party-party costs and requires specific justification. The applicant had not been afforded a proper opportunity to address the grounds upon which such an order might be made, particularly as the respondent had not sought indemnity costs in its initial submissions. The Court held that the failure to provide the applicant with notice and an opportunity to be heard on the question of indemnity costs meant the order could not stand.

Consequently, the Full Court quashed the primary judge's order for indemnity costs and remitted the matter to the primary judge for redetermination of the costs order.