Maybe. Legal Aid NSW supports practitioners making applications for costs only when there are good prospects of the application succeeding. You as the practitioner (or your counsel) will be in the best position to assess whether the legislative requirements for a costs order have been satisfied. The tests for Local Court costs applications are set out in s214 Criminal Procedure Act 1986 for summary matters, s117 for committals and s3 of the Costs in Criminal Cases Act for trial matters. An acquittal does not necessarily mean an award of costs is warranted – your client may just have been fortunate (e.g. if a prosecution witness does not attend) and should be happy with that result.

Not the Local Court, as the Court will usually want to hear the application immediately after dismissal or withdrawal of the charges. If however, at the conclusion of a trial a costs application is made and the Court appoints a later date to hear it, Legal Aid NSW will extend the grant for the time needed to prepare any necessary submissions and attend on the costs hearing.

As s213 Criminal Procedure Act 1986 allows the Court to award costs that are just and reasonable you should ask the Court to award costs at the rate of 175% of the standard hourly rate. Itemise your schedule of costs for all time you spent on the matter which has been approved by the Grants Division. Section 42 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 requires the Court to ignore the fact that a person is legally aided when making a costs determination. Be sure to prepare a simple schedule of the time spent in taking instructions, court attendances, preparation for hearing and attendance on hearing at that rate to hand up to the Magistrate on the day. Let Legal Aid NSW know the outcome.

There is no provision for practitioners to be paid more costs in AVO matters because those costs are rarely recovered from the other party. If however Legal Aid NSW is are able to recover the costs from the costs debtor you will be paid 175% of the standard hourly rate.

Obtain the costs certificate and send it via email to the Senior Solicitor, Legal Costs Recovery, In-house Counsel Unit. Kindly ask the client to sign a Notice of Assignment of the costs to Legal Aid NSW so the costs can be claimed back (see attachment). Claim your costs on Grants Online in the normal manner. The Senior Solicitor, Legal Costs Recovery will be in touch to get some further information from you, arrange for payment of any additional fees that are due to you. The Senior Solicitor will contact the Court or the Department of Communities and Justice to arrange reimbursement of costs.

The Legal Aid NSW criminal fee scale provides that practitioners be paid 175% of the standard hourly rate if costs are awarded in criminal proceedings. Legal Aid NSW will not pay you any additional costs until you have provided all the information needed by Legal Aid NSW.

You should send the Suitors’ Fund Certificate and the client's Notice of Assignment form to the Senior Solicitor, Legal Costs Recovery, In-house Counsel Unit and claim for completed work in the normal manner. If there are insufficient funds left on the grant to complete the new trial apply for an extension. Additional payments will not be paid at the higher rate of 175% when a Suitors Fund Certificate has been obtained.

There is no provision for practitioners to be paid more costs in AVO matters because those costs are rarely recovered from the other party. If however Legal Aid NSW are able to recover the costs from the costs debtor you will be paid 175% of the standard hourly rate.

Possibly. An application for costs pursuant to the Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967 can be made at any time after arraignment if you are satisfied the costs application has reasonable prospects of success. Please note the fact that a charge was no-billed at a very early stage would suggest at the prosecution having been an unreasonable one for the DPP to undertake.