SZVAG and Anor v Minister for Immigration and Anor (No.2)

The applicants, SZVAG and Anor, sought orders for costs against the Minister for Immigration and Anor. The dispute concerned an application for costs made by the Minister, seeking an order that the applicants' solicitor pay the Minister's costs personally. The matter came before Judge Cameron in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicants' solicitor had failed to give "proper consideration to the prospects of success of migration litigation" in circumstances that warranted a personal costs order against the solicitor. This required the Court to assess the solicitor's conduct in advising and representing the applicants, particularly in relation to the likelihood of their application succeeding.

Judge Cameron reasoned that a personal costs order against a legal practitioner is an exceptional measure, requiring a high degree of culpability. The Court considered the evidence presented regarding the prospects of success of the applicants' migration litigation and the advice provided by their solicitor. The Court found that the solicitor had not acted unreasonably or without proper consideration of the prospects of success, and therefore, the threshold for making a personal costs order was not met. The Court concluded that the Minister had not established grounds for ordering the solicitor to pay the Minister's costs personally.