EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 166

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

 

Federal Court of Australia Act 1976

Federal Court of Australia Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)

 

The Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (the Act) establishes the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) as a federal court under Chapter III of the Constitution.

 

Subsection 60(1) of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. In particular, the subsection provides that regulations may be made prescribing the fees to be paid in respect of proceedings in the Court or the service or execution of process of the Court by officers of the Court.

 

The Federal Court of Australia Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations) prescribe certain fees in relation to court proceedings and make provisions in relation to the payment of those fees.

The purpose of the Regulations is to introduce tiered hearing fees for long matters.  The hearing fees will increase after four hearing days and again after nine hearing days.  Other fees listed in Schedule 1 of the Principal Regulations, which relate to various applications and court services, will also increase. 

These changes are part of a suite of measures the government is implementing as part of its access to justice framework in the 2010-11 budget.  The framework is based on principles of accessibility, appropriateness, equity, efficiency and effectiveness.  The access to justice measures in the 2010-11 budget are focussed on directing people away from high-cost litigation to early intervention services, which help people resolve disputes before they escalate to larger problems.

The new fee amounts in Schedule 1 of the Regulations also incorporate biennial increases in fees. These biennial increases occur on each biennial anniversary of 1 July 1996, as required by regulation 8 of the Principal Regulations. The biennial increases are calculated in accordance with the formula specified in Schedule 2 of the Principal Regulations. The next increase is to take place on 1 July 2010.

The new amounts for the remuneration of jurors in Schedule 4 of the Regulations incorporate biennial increases as calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 of the Principal Regulations. These biennial increases occur on each biennial anniversary of 1 July 1996, as required by Regulation 15B of the Principal Regulations. The next increase is to take place on 1 July 2010.

The fee amounts listed in the Principal Regulations are not up-to-date, due to the effect of past biennial increases that have not been recorded in the Principal Regulations. The fee amounts listed in the Commonwealth Government Notices Gazette, No. GN 21, 28 May 2008 are the actual fees in force until 1 July 2010. The fee increases have therefore been applied to the gazetted fee amounts, rather than the fee amounts in the Principal Regulations.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the proposed Regulations may be exercised.

 

The proposed Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commence on 1 July 2010.

 

The Federal Court has been consulted in relation to these amendments.

 

 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Federal Court of Australia Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Federal Court of Australia Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on 1 July 2010.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Federal Court of Australia Regulations 2004

 

This regulation provides for the amendment of the Federal Court of Australia Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations) as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Item [1] – Regulation 2

 

This item will make Regulation 2 consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [19] below.

 

Item [2] – Subregulation 3(1), definition of filing fee

 

This item will make subregulation 3(1) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [3] – Subregulation 3(1), definition of hearing fee

 

This item will make subregulation 3(1) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [4] – Subregulation 3(1), definition of setting-down fee

 

This item will make subregulation 3(1) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [5] – Paragraph 5(2)(b)

 

This item will make paragraph 5(2)(b) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [6] – Subparagraph 5(2)(c)(i) and (d)(i)

 

This item will make subparagraphs 5(2)(c)(i) and 5(2)(d)(i) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [7] – Subregulation 6(2)

 

This item will make subregulation 6(2) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [8] – Regulation 8

 

This item will make Regulation 8, which sets out the biennial adjustment of fees, consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [9] – Subregulation 9(1)

 

This item will make subregulation 9(1) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 of the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [10] – Paragraph 10(1)(b)

This item will make paragraph 10(1)(b) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [11] – Subregulation 11(2)

 

This item will make subregulation 11(2) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [12] – Paragraph 11(3)(b)

 

This item will make paragraph 11(3)(b) consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] below.

 

Item [13] – Schedule 1, table

This item will add new fee items to implement tiered hearing fees for long cases. This item will also increase the fees listed in the fee schedule. These changes are part of a suite of measures the government is implementing as part of its access to justice framework in the 2010-11 Budget.  The framework is based on principles of accessibility, appropriateness, equity, efficiency and effectiveness.  The access to justice measures in the 2010-11 Budget are focussed on directing people away from high-cost litigation to early intervention services, which help people resolve disputes before they escalate to larger problems.

This item will also implement the biennial increase in fees. This item will also renumber items referred to in the second column of the table to be consistent with the changes to the item numbers in the first column of the table.

 

Item [14] – Schedule 2, clause 1, definition of fee

 

This item will make clause 1 of Schedule 2 consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] above.

 

 

Item [15] – schedule 3, paragraph 1(2)(ba)

 

This item will make paragraph 1(2)(ba) of Schedule 3 consistent with the numbering changes made to Schedule 1 to the Regulations by item [13] above.

 

Item [16] – schedule 4, item 2

 

This item will increase fees relating to juror remuneration in relation to attendance on days two to five from $90 to $95. This will make the amount payable consistent with the required biennial increase.

 

Item [17] – schedule 4, item 3

 

This change will increase fees relating to juror remuneration in relation to attendance on days six to ten from $100 to $105. This will make the amount payable consistent with the required biennial increase

 

Item [18] – schedule 4, item 4

 

This change will increase fees relating to juror remuneration in relation to attendance on each day after day 10 from $110 to 116. This will make the amount payable consistent with the required biennial increase