Protective Commissioner v "D" & (No 3)

The Protective Commissioner sought clarification from the Supreme Court of New South Wales regarding the scope of an earlier costs order made in proceedings involving "D" and a second respondent. The dispute centred on the basis upon which the Protective Commissioner was to pay the second respondent's costs in relation to a specific application.

The central legal issue before the Court was to determine the precise meaning and application of the earlier costs order, specifically whether it mandated costs to be paid on a common fund basis. This required the Court to interpret its previous order and ascertain the intention of the parties and the Court at the time it was made.

The Court clarified that the earlier order, which had been made on 21 December 2004, was intended to encompass costs payable on a common fund basis. Consequently, the Court amended Order (2) of its previous decision to explicitly state that the Protective Commissioner was to pay the second respondent's costs of the section 12 application on a common fund basis.