australia federal-courts costs
How much would Novak Djokovic’s legal fees be?
<p>Novak Djokovic just lost his appeal against his visa being cancelled in the Australian Federal Court and was ordered to pay all costs.</p>
<p>There was 1 court session and a judgement later same day.</p>
<p>What would the approximate costs be to cover the government side, who had a QC representing them, and the hearing fees?</p>

<h2>Impossible to say</h2>
<p>The practice note on Federal Court legal costs is <a href="https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-documents/practice-notes/gpn-costs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, the general rule is that costs follow the event (loser pays) and usually on a “party and party” basis rather than an “indemnity” basis.</p>
<p>An indemnity basis means that the loser pays the full costs that the winner had to pay to their lawyers, experts, etc. A party and party basis means the loser pays the scheduled rates which are typically one third to one half of the actual rates. The current rates are <a href="https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/forms-and-fees/legal-costs/national-guide-counsel-fees" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. As an example, the senior council rate for prep work is up to $740 per hour; the actual fees charged by a QC will probably be in the order of $2,500 per hour.</p>
<p>The court will typically make a costs order (saying who pays and on what basis) at the time of the judgement and then the parties will agree the actual costs. If there is a dispute on this, they can ask the court to resolve it (potentially incurring more costs).</p>
<p>The actual fees for using the court are <a href="https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/gfl/gfl-fees" rel="nofollow noreferrer">nominal</a> - less than $1,000 per day and are insignificant in the scheme of things.</p>
<p>To hazard a guess, Mr D is likely to be up for $100-200k for his own legal team, $30-50k for the government’s team (with the government likely to have spent considerably more) and about $5k for the court itself.</p>
