EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1984 No. 285
Issued by the Authority of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
AMENDMENTS OF THE RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
These amendments provide for an increase in the scale of costs chargeable by solicitors for litigious work. The last such increase was made on 1 August 1981. Since that time, such increases have been made in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, every State Supreme Court except that of Western Australia, and the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.
The increases take account of two matters:
a) in the period referred to, solicitors’ overhead expenses have substantially increased, e.g. office rents in Canberra have increased by between 32% and 40%, and wages and salaries, under the Federated Clerks’ Award, by 28%.
b) the Consumer Price Index has risen by 25.9%, and average weekly earnings, between the September 1981 quarter and the March 1984 quarter, have increased by 26.3% nationally.
The increase now provided for is of the order of 27.3%. This is intended to allow the net incomes of
solicitors, before tax, to rise by 26%, in reasonable parity with wages, salaries, and other incomes. The figure of 27.3% is based on the assumption that overhead expenses account for 65% of gross charges rendered by solicitors. A survey by the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory has shown that such expenses represent between 65% and 70% of such gross charges.
The fixed costs provided for in Order 4 rule 6 have been increased by an amount which represents 27% of so much of the existing amounts as does not include the disbursement of a Court fee. The latter is fixed by Regulation (see S.R. 1982 No. 246).
Some very minor amendments have been made to the list of items in the Fourth Schedule.