{"id":"legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984","name":"Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984","slug":"legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":178472,"registerId":"wa-legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLegal Aid Commission Act 1976\n\nLegal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984\n\n- **Reprinted under the *Reprints Act 1984* as**\n- **at 5 December 2003**\n\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLegal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Application 1\n\n3. Interpretation 1\n\n4. Modification of section 45(1) of the Act 2\n\n5. Application to be filed 2\n\n6. Entry of appearance 3\n\n7. Listing of application subject to compliance 4\n\n8. Applicant to apply for time and place of hearing 4\n\nSchedule\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 8\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n- Crest **Reprinted under the *Reprints Act 1984* as**\n- **at 5 December 2003**\n\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLegal Aid Commission Act 1976\n\nLegal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\nThese rules may be cited as the *Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984* 1*.*\n\n##### 2. Application\n\nThese rules apply to and in relation to any application made or sought to be made under section 45 of the Act and in relation to any application made under that section that is pending at the time that these rules come into operation.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\nIn these rules, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  application means an application by an unassisted person for an order;\n\n  order means an order of a court or tribunal made under section 45 of the Act that the whole or any part of the costs of an unassisted person be paid to him by the Commission;\n\n  rule means one of these rules;\n\n  the Act means the *Legal Aid Commission Act 1976*.\n\n##### 4. Modification of section 45(1) of the Act\n\nThe provisions of section 45(1) of the Act in their application to an unassisted person who is concerned in a proceeding in a fiduciary, representative or official capacity are modified so that they apply to him only in that capacity and for the purposes of determining whether an order should be made in a case in which such an unassisted person is a party the court or tribunal shall have regard to —\n\n(a) the value of the property, estate or fund out of which the unassisted person is entitled to be indemnified;\n\n(b) the resources of the persons, if any, who are beneficially interested in that property, estate or fund; and\n\n(c) if there is no property, estate or fund available from which the unassisted person can be indemnified, the resources of the unassisted person.\n\n##### 5. Application to be filed\n\n(1) An application shall be in the form of Form 1 in the Schedule and shall be filed with the court or tribunal in which the proceedings in respect of which the order is sought took place.\n\n(2) An application shall be accompanied by —\n\n(a) a certified copy of the order establishing the liability of the assisted person to pay the costs of the unassisted person;\n\n(b) except where the amount of the costs for which the assisted person is liable has been fixed by the court or tribunal in the order, a certified copy of the bill of costs of the unassisted person and of the taxing officer’s allocatur; and\n\n(c) a statement verified by a statutory declaration setting out the facts upon which the applicant intends to rely so as to satisfy the court or tribunal that —\n\n(i) in all the circumstances of the case it is just and equitable that the order should be made; and\n\n(ii) the unassisted person would suffer undue financial hardship if the order were not made.\n\n##### 6. Entry of appearance\n\n(1) Where a copy of an application is served on him the Director shall within 21 days of such service enter an appearance on the application.\n\n(2) An appearance for the purposes of subrule (1) shall be made by filing a memorandum of appearance in the form of Form 2 in the Schedule in the court or tribunal and in such memorandum of appearance the Director shall state whether he consents to or opposes the making of the order applied for.\n\n(3) Where in a memorandum of appearance the Director states that an application will be opposed the Director shall in the memorandum of appearance specify —\n\n(a) whether or not the applicant is required to be present at the hearing to present himself for cross‑examination; and\n\n(b) whether or not the applicant is required to produce documents or papers for inspection or copying or both by the Director prior to the hearing of the application.\n\n(5) A copy of a memorandum of appearance shall be served on the applicant as soon as may be after the filing of the memorandum with the court or tribunal.\n\n(6) Where in a memorandum of appearance the Director specifies that he requires the production of any documents or papers for inspection or copying or both the applicant shall make such documents and papers available to the Director at an office of the Commission or a place not more than 5 km from the court or tribunal and shall notify the Director in writing of the place where, during ordinary office hours, such documents may be inspected.\n\n(7) Where the Director requires any document to be copied the applicant shall supply such copy to the Director as soon as reasonably practicable.\n\n##### 7. Listing of application subject to compliance\n\nWhere the Director has in a memorandum of appearance opposed the making of an order and specified pursuant to rule 6(3)(b) that he requires the production of any documents or papers for inspection and copying the applications shall not be listed for hearing by the court or tribunal unless the proper officer of the court or tribunal is satisfied that the applicant has complied with such requirement.\n\n##### 8. Applicant to apply for time and place of hearing\n\nAn applicant shall apply to the court or tribunal for a time and place of the hearing of his application and when the time and place of the hearing has been fixed the applicant shall forthwith notify the Director of such time and place.\n\nSchedule\n\nForm 1\n\n*LEGAL AID COMMISSION ACT 1976*\n\n*LEGAL AID (UNASSISTED PERSONS COSTS) RULES 1984*\n\nIN THE (Court or tribunal)\n\nIN THE MATTER of the *Legal Aid Commission Act 1976* and IN THE MATTER of a (state nature of the proceedings e.g. action etc.) in the court (or tribunal) wherein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .was (plaintiff or as the case may be)\n\nand\n\n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . was (defendant or as the case may be)\n\nAPPLICATION FOR AN ORDER BY AN UNASSISTED PERSON RELATING TO COSTS\n\n(Section 45)\n\nI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\nin the State of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\noccupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\nbeing the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in the above‑mentioned proceedings hereby apply for an order that costs amounting to $ . . . . . . . . incurred by me in the (state nature of proceedings) be paid to me by the Legal Aid Commission.\n\nAttached to this application are —\n\n(a) a certified copy of the order establishing the liability of the assisted person to pay the costs referred to;\n\n(b) a certified copy of my costs and the taxing officers allocatur (this certificate is not required where the costs for which the assisted person is liable is fixed in the order referred to in paragraph (a) above); and\n\n(c) a statement verified by statutory declaration for the purposes of section 45(1)(c) of the *Legal Aid Commission Act 1976*.\n\nDated this day of 20 .\n\n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\nSignature of Applicant.\n\nForm 2\n\n*LEGAL AID COMMISSION ACT 1976*\n\n*LEGAL AID (UNASSISTED PERSONS COSTS) RULES 1984*\n\n[Heading as in application]\n\nMEMORANDUM OF APPEARANCE\n\nEnter an appearance for the Director of Legal Aid in this matter.\n\n| I | ![]() | consent to the application<br>(or)<br>oppose the application and |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n\n\nI do/do not require the Applicant to be present at the hearing to present himself/herself for cross‑examination and\n\nI do/do not require the Applicant to produce to me prior to the hearing of the application the following documents and/or papers for inspection or copying or both.\n\nDated this day of 20 .\n\n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\nDirector of Legal Aid.\n\nThe address of the Legal Aid Commission for the purposes of this matter is . .\n\n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a reprint as at 5 December 2003 of the *Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984*. The following table contains information about these rules and any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Gazettal** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984* | 10 Aug 1984 p. 2351‑3 | 10 Aug 1984 |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984* as at 5 Dec 2003** | | |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\napplication 3\n\norder 3\n\nrule 3\n\nthe Act 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing procedural mechanisms for unassisted persons to recover costs from the Legal Aid Commission under section 45 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1976. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific administrative process."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (application, order, rule, the Act)","Straightforward procedural structure with 8 short rules","Minimal cross-referencing – primarily references to section 45 of the parent Act and internal rule references","Single conditional modification in Rule 4 regarding fiduciary/representative capacity","Standard court forms provided in Schedule with clear field markers","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic chains","Length is approximately 4 pages including forms"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation sets out the procedural rules for how people who aren't receiving legal aid ('unassisted persons') can apply to have their legal costs paid by the Legal Aid Commission.\n\n**What it does:**\nWhen someone wins a court case against a person who *was* receiving legal aid, the winner (who paid their own legal fees) can ask the Legal Aid Commission to pay their costs instead of the aided person. These rules explain exactly how to make that application.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Unassisted persons** – people who paid for their own lawyer (or represented themselves) and won a case against someone who had legal aid\n- **The Director of Legal Aid** – who must respond to these applications\n- **Courts and tribunals** – which hear these applications\n\n**Key processes:**\n- The winner must file a formal application with the court, including proof of the costs and a sworn statement (statutory declaration) showing they'd suffer financial hardship without the order\n- The Director of Legal Aid has 21 days to respond, saying whether they consent or oppose\n- If opposed, the Director can demand documents and require the applicant to attend for cross-examination (questioning under oath)\n- The hearing won't be scheduled until document requirements are met\n- Special rules apply when the unassisted person is acting in a representative capacity (like an executor of a will or trustee) – the court looks at the value of the estate or fund involved, not just the person's personal resources\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout these rules, someone who successfully defended themselves against a legally aided opponent could be left with substantial legal bills even though they won. This creates a safety valve so that winning doesn't mean financial ruin for people of modest means who don't qualify for legal aid themselves."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was available for review. The page hosting the Legal Aid (Unassisted Persons Costs) Rules 1984 on the Western Australian legislation website is no longer accessible due to a system migration."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the page returned a system error rather than content","Analysis is impossible beyond what the title suggests","Cannot assess provisions, exceptions, definitions, or operative sections","Title alone suggests moderate underlying complexity (costs rules in legal aid contexts can be technical), but this cannot be confirmed or scored fairly"],"plain_english_summary":"A 1984 Western Australian instrument governing how legal costs are handled when one party has legal aid and the other does not. It sets rules about who can recover costs and under what circumstances, affecting self-represented or privately funded parties facing legally aided opponents.\n\nNote: the original online page is currently inaccessible; consult the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office for the current rules."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"These rules modify the application of section 45(1) to unassisted persons acting in fiduciary, representative or official capacities so the provision applies only in that capacity and requires the court to consider specified matters (value of the indemnity fund, beneficiaries' resources, or the applicant's resources) when deciding whether an order should be made (rule 4). They therefore narrow and specify the scope and factors the court must assess under section 45(1)."},"complexity_factors":["Interaction and modification of section 45(1) of the Act (rule 4) — changes the substantive scope depending on fiduciary/representative capacity","Detailed documentary and evidentiary requirements for applications (rule 5(1)–(2)) including certified orders, bills, allocatur and a statutory-declaration statement of undue hardship","Director's procedural powers and strict timeline to enter appearance within 21 days, and to state consent or opposition (rule 6(1)–(2))","Director may require applicant attendance for cross-examination and pre-hearing production/inspection/copying of documents, with a 5 km production distance limit (rule 6(3), (6))","Listing conditional on applicant's compliance with document production requirements (rule 7) — procedural gatekeeping by the court's officer","Standardised forms and prescribed filing/notice mechanics (Schedule Forms 1 & 2) reduce ambiguity but create formality burdens","Potential interpretive questions about when a person is \"concerned in a proceeding in a fiduciary, representative or official capacity\" and what counts as the \"resources\" of beneficiaries (rule 4)"],"plain_english_summary":"These rules set the step-by-step procedure for an unassisted person to ask a court under section 45 of the Legal Aid Commission Act to have the Legal Aid Commission pay costs that an assisted person was ordered to pay. They prescribe the forms, documents (certified order, bill and taxing allocatur), a sworn hardship statement, time limits for the Director to enter an appearance, and how the Director may require attendance and document inspection.\n\nThe rules also narrow how section 45(1) applies where the unassisted person acts in a fiduciary or representative capacity: the court must weigh the value of any indemnity fund, the resources of beneficiaries, or, if no fund exists, the applicant's own resources. The practical effect shifts compliance costs and evidence duties onto applicants and gives the Director procedural discretion to demand documents and cross-examination."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984","history":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984/history","analysis":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/legal-aid-unassisted-persons-costs-rules-1984/documents"}}