Joint Costs Advisory Committee Inquiry 2025
5 September 2025
Each year the Joint Costs Advisory Committee (JCAC) calls for input about the scales of costs across the federal courts. The JCAC then makes recommendations on adjustments to the scales in each court’s rules. The Law Council has been an active contributor to that dialogue since over many years.
This week, the Law Council made a submission to the JCAC calling for an increase to the scales and broader reforms to the assessment of costs.
The Law Council’s submission identified a range of matters important to the assessment of costs in the federal courts, including:
- the need for the scales of costs to be living documents, which reflect the actual practices of the courts and the profession;
- escalating cost pressures for the legal profession, including increasing costs of regulatory compliance, technology, salaries and business costs;
- the urgent need to update the Federal Court’s National Guide to Counsel Fees, which has not been updated since 2013;
- the utility of expanding the short form amounts claimable under the Federal Court Rules; and
- the need for the scales of costs to reflect increased use of technology in legal practice.
The Law Council looks forward to ongoing dialogue with the JCAC and the profession on this issue.
Last Updated on 03/09/2025
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