EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
BANKRUPTCY ACT 1966
BANKRUPTCY RULES (AMENDMENT)
1986 No. 84
The purpose of the amendment to Schedule 3 to the Bankruptcy Rules is to implement a recommendation by the Federal Costs Advisory Committee that the scale of solicitors’ costs in bankruptcy jurisdiction be increased by 18.2 per centum.
The Federal Costs Advisory Committee was established to advise the Attorney-General on variations in the quantum of costs for solicitors (including expenses and fees for witnesses) under the Bankruptcy Rules.
Under its terms of reference the Committee is required to have regard to:
(i) reasonable expenses incurred by solicitors in the conduct of their practices and the heed for them to recover in full increases in these expenses;
(ii) the need for solicitors’ costs to be consistent with a reasonable return on capital and to provide appropriate recognition of professional skills;
(iii) government policy in relation to prices and incomes and in particular to paragraph 28 of the National Economic Summit Conference communique; and
(iv) any other relevant factors.
The Committee considered a number of submissions, both written and oral, in formulating its recommendation for an increase of 18.2% in the scale of solicitors’ costs under the Bankruptcy Rules.
Authorised by the Attorney-General