Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts(1) A client may apply to the Supreme Court for a review of all or any part of legal costs.
(2) An application for a costs review may be made even if the legal costs have been completely or partly paid.
(3) If any legal costs have been paid without a bill, the client may nevertheless apply for a costs review and, for that purpose, the request for payment is taken to be a bill.
(4) An application under this section must be made not later than 60 days after the day the bill was given or the request was made or after the costs were paid (whichever is earlier or earliest).
(5) However, the Supreme Court must deal with an application made out of time, unless the court considers that the law practice has established that to deal with the application out of time would, in all the circumstances, cause unfair prejudice to the law practice.
(6) In this section:
"client" includes the following:
(a) a person who has been given a bill by a law practice (other than a person who is acting only in the capacity of agent or a similar capacity, for example, a courier);
(b) a person who has paid legal costs;
(c) a person (other than a person who was given a bill) who is liable to pay legal costs;
(d) an executor, administrator or assignee of a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);
(e) a trustee of the estate of a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);
(f) a person interested in any property out of which a trustee, executor or administrator who is liable to pay legal costs has paid, or is entitled to pay, the costs.
Note An example is part of the Act, is not exhaustive and may extend, but does not limit, the meaning of the provision in which it appears (see Legislation Act, s 126 and s 132).