Costs in unpaid wages or entitlements cases

About legal costs

Costs are:

• lawyers fees, and
• the expenses involved in running a case, such as filing fees, fees for subpoenas, witnesses, and getting copies of records and expert reports.

If someone wins a case, they may ask for an order that the other side pay their costs. However, it is rare for the court to make this order.

Costs orders

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia can only make a costs order where:

• someone went ahead with a case when it was clearly weak and they had no chance of winning (this is called a 'frivolous or vexatious' case). For this reason, it is a good idea to get legal advice about the strength of your case before you start your case in court.
• a party did something that was unreasonable (or unreasonably failed to do something) and caused the other side to incur costs. For example, where one party kept unreasonably asking to adjourn (postpone) the case.

You should also get legal advice if your employer tells you they are going to ask the court for a costs order.

Applying to be paid your costs

If you want to ask the court for orders that your employer pay your costs, you should do this at the time that the Judge tells you that you have won the case. You should prepare an itemised list of your costs and expenses.

You must apply for costs within 28 days of a final order being made in your case. You should contact the court about getting your case listed before the Judge again if you forgot to ask about costs when they made their decision.