Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018 (WA)
21 June 2018 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, WA 2167 LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2008 LEGAL PROFESSION (OFFICIAL PROSECUTIONS)
(ACCUSED'S COSTS) REPORT 2018
Made by the Legal Costs Committee under Division 5 of Part 10 of the Legal Profession Act 2008
(Act).
PART 1—PRELIMINARY
1. Citation
(a)
This Report may be cited as the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Report 2018.
(b)
The Determination set out in the Schedule to this Report is referred to in this Report as the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018.
PART 2—NOTICE AND INQUIRIES
2. Notice under section 278 of the Act
The Legal Costs Committee has complied with the notice provisions of section 278 of the Act.
3. Inquiries and submissions under section 277 of the Act
Before making the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018, the
Legal Costs Committee—
(a)
considered the impact of changes in relevant Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the period; and
(b) reviewed a submission from the Law Society of Western Australia.
PART 3—REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE'S CONCLUSIONS
4. Maximum hourly and daily rates changed
(a)
it is the recommendation of the Legal Costs Committee, after reviewing the information gained as a result of the inquiries and the submission described in clause 3, that the hourly and daily rates set out in Table A and Table B of the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018 be adopted for the supply of legal services for an official prosecution and the awarding of costs to a successful accused under sections 5 or 7 of the Official Prosecutions (Accused's Costs) Act 1973.
(b) The hourly rates referred to in sub clause (a) are set out in Table A of the Legal Profession
BRENDAN ASHDOWN, Member.
(Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018.
(c)
The daily rates referred to in sub clause (a) are set out in Table B of the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018.
(d)
it is the recommendation of the Legal Costs Committee as a result of inquiries and submissions described in clause 3 that the scale of costs set out in Table C of the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018 be adopted.
(e)
it is the further recommendation of the Legal Costs Committee that the daily and hourly rates and scale of costs continue to be inclusive of GST.
(f)
The Legal Costs Committee considers that it is impossible to include an item for witness fees because of the wide range of occupations of witnesses who are called to give evidence. Witness fees should be allowed as a disbursement and at the discretion of the Court or the taxing officer but loss of earnings foregone of a witness or the accused are not intended to be recoverable.
(g)
The recommendation of the Legal Costs Committee in sub clause is not intended to affect the generality of item 8 of the scale of costs set out in Table C of the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs) Determination 2018.
CLARE THOMPSON, Chair.
ANGELA GAFFNEY, Member.
MARCUS COCKER, Member,
JANICE DUDLEY, Member.
MATTHEW CURWOOD, Member.
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Schedule
LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2008
LEGAL PROFESSION (OFFICIAL PROSECUTIONS)
(ACCUSED'S COSTS) DETERMINATION 2018
Made by the Legal Costs Committee under section 275 of the Legal Profession Act 2008 (Act).
1. Citation
This Determination may be cited as the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs)
Determination 2018.
2. Commencement
This Determination comes into operation on 1 July 2018.
3. Interpretation
Words and phrases used in this Determination have the same meaning as in the Official Prosecutions
(Accused's Costs) Act 1973.
4. Application
|
in respect of an official prosecution in or for the purposes of proceedings before a Magistrates Court or an Appeal Court, as defined in the Official Prosecutions (Accused's Costs) Act 1973 and the amount of costs ordered to be paid to a successful accused under sections 5 or 7 of the Official Prosecutions (Accused's Costs) Act 1973.
| (b) | This Determination does not apply to the remuneration of legal practitioners or the |
| calculation of costs to be awarded to a successful accused for costs incurred in respect of business carried out before the commencement of this Determination. |
5. Restricted Practitioner category introduction of this Determination.
The amendments brought in by the Legal Profession (Official Prosecutions) (Accused's Costs)
6. Rates
|
the Legal Costs Committee determines shall apply to the remuneration of legal practitioners and the award of costs to a successful accused (where the successful accused has been represented by a legal practitioner) in respect of an official prosecution in or for the purposes of proceedings before a Magistrates Court and shall be used to calculate the dollar amounts in the scale of costs set out in Table C.
Table A
Maximum allowed
Fee Earner hourly rates
Senior Practitionera (permitted to practise on his or her own account for less than 5 years) (JP)
$418
$319 Restricted Practitioner (RP) #, ° $231 Clerk/Paralegal (C/PL) ## $154 account for 5 years or more) (SP) °
° The reference to Restricted Practitioner, Junior Practitioner or Senior Practitioner in this Determination includes all legal practitioners even if the services were rendered in another State or Territory. Where a local practitioner has held an interstate practising certificate, the length of unrestricted legal practice in that other jurisdiction is to be counted in assessing that practitioner's years of practice for the purposes of this Determination. # The reference to Restricted Practitioner in this Determination includes practitioners undertaking restricted legal practice for the purposes of obtaining the required experience set out in section 50 of the Act and does not include a reference to an Australian legal practitioner who has a condition placed on their practising certificate by the Legal Practice Board, State Administrative Tribunal or otherwise, requiring them to practise under supervision for disciplinary, medical or other reasons.
## The reference to Clerk/Paralegal in this Determination includes a law graduate prior to their
admission to practise as an Australian lawyer.
| (b) | The daily rates set out in Table B are the maximum daily rates, inclusive of GST, which the |
Legal Costs Committee determines shall apply to the remuneration of legal practitioners in respect of an official prosecution in or for the purposes of proceedings before a Magistrates Court.
21 June 2018 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, WA 2169
Table B
Fee Earner Maximum allowed
daily rates
Counsel $3,410 Senior Counsel* $5,390 § The reference to Counsel in this Determination means a practitioner acting as a barrister other than as Senior Counsel and includes a practitioner appearing in court who does not practise in accordance with Supreme Court Practice Direction 10.5.
* The reference to Senior Counsel in this Determination means a person within the meaning of item
11 or item 12 of Regulation 5(2) of the Legal Profession Regulations 2009 (WA).
(c) The daily rates set out in Table B are intended to cover all work done on a hearing or trial day whether in or out of court including preparation of written submissions and are not intended to be supplemented in any way by additional hourly charges given that the maximum number of hours allowed for the daily rate is 10 hours per day. Scale of costs of counsel fees but exclusive of other disbursements) shall not exceed the amounts set out in Table C.
7.
8. Complex matters, and matters involving a high degree of skill or urgency or requires
Senior Counsel
(a) Where a matter is complex, or involves a high degree of skill or urgency, or requires Senior Counsel, notwithstanding the rates set out in the Tables to this Determination, the accused is entitled to recover a fee that is greater than the one that is set out in this Determination, if it is reasonable in the circumstances.
(b) Work undertaken by Senior Counsel shall be allowable in accordance with the rates in Table B of this Determination.
9. Appeals
All costs incurred in relation to an appeal to the Supreme Court of Western Australia are to be taxed in accordance with the relevant items in Table B of the Legal Profession (Supreme and District Courts) (Contentious Business) Determination 2018.
Table C
Official Prosecutions (Accused's Costs) Scale of Costs 2018
Maximum Maximum
Item time amount 1 Adjournments
1 (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), allow for one 1 hour $418 adjournment only
(b) Costs for additional adjournments to be awarded on application to, and at the discretion of, the
presiding Magistrate
(c)
Each Court ordered adjournment 1 hour $418 2 Bail application
(a) Preparation for, and appearance at, initial bail 3.5 hours $1,463 application and/or application for bail in respect
of serious offences set out in the Bail Act 1982 (WA)
b) Preparation for, and appearance at, application 1.5 hours $627 to vary bail conditions
3 Directions hearing, including preparation 1 hours $1,672 4 Trial
(a) Preparation of case and half day trial, including $7,744 counsel fee (b) Second half day $858
5 Second or each successive day of trial $3,410 6 An allowance for preparation where the trial does not An amount
proceed or the prosecution offers no evidence which is
reasonable in
the
circumstances
7 Counsel's fee
For attending court for remand appearance, directions 3 hours $1,023 hearing, status conference, mention, callover, reserved decision or other appearance not otherwise accounted for
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Maximum Maximum
| Item | time | amount |
8 Disbursements
(a) Copies per page 0.165 (b) In addition to the fees allowed under this Determination disbursements (for example transport, accommodation, meals and travel costs of an accused, solicitor, counsel or witness actually incurred by an accused as a necessary incident to defending an official prosecution) may be allowed as are necessarily or reasonably incurred.
Made by the Legal Costs Committee on 13 June 2018.
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