EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1986 No. 305
Issued by the authority of the Justices of the High Court of Australia
AMENDMENTS TO THE HIGH COURT RULES
The Third Schedule to the High Court Rules itemizes the fees and charges payable by the litigants in respect of proceedings commenced in the High Court.
The items in the Schedule were last varied by Statutory Rule No. 216 made on 26 August 1982 and became operative from 4 October 1982.
The new Schedule introduces composite fees for the various forms of originating process. Previously, fees were payable on the initiating document and at various stages in the course of the proceedings. The introduction of composite fees will involve the payment of a fee only on the initiating document.
Some increase has been made to most items in the Schedule with the exception of the fee for special leave applications and the taxing fee payable on a bill of costs.
In setting the fee for special leave applications, the Court was concerned that litigants should not have access to this Court restricted by the imposition of a high fee. If special leave to
appeal is granted, the increase in fees payable is 15% higher than fees payable under the existing Schedule.
The Court primarily produces transcripts of proceedings for its own purposes and the production costs are absorbed in the general administrative costs of the Court. As a service to the profession, and the public, copies of transcripts have been made available at a nominal charge. The demand for transcripts has been such that the Court can no longer absorb the associated increase in costs.
The Court’s policy is to make its judgments available to all interested person at minimal cost. It does this by distributing copies free of charge to the Parliament, Law Schools and Law Society libraries, State and Federal law officers, Law Reform Commissions and other interested bodies. Copies of the Court’s judgments have also been available from its various offices throughout Australia at a nominal charge of $2.00. This minimum charge has been retained for judgments of ten pages or less, but increases in production costs has meant that there must be an increase in larger judgments.
There will be an additional fee of fifty cents (50¢) per page after the initial ten pages with a maximum fee payable of twenty dollars ($20.00). An average judgment of twenty pages will cost seven dollars ($7.00) under the new fees.
The Court has introduced a new charge of three hundred and fifty dollars ($350.00) for a yearly subscription to the judgments of
the Court. The subscription includes the cost of postage and will enable subscribers throughout Australia to receive copies of judgments within forty-eight hours of their being handed down.