Migration: Costs

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Generally, the unsuccessful party has to pay the legal costs of the successful party. These are referred to as party-party costs. If the Court dismisses your application, or you discontinue your application, you will have to pay the Minister’s legal costs.

The total cost will depend on the length of the case and the amount of work done. The Court rules set out the legal costs that ordinarily apply. See Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2021.

For more information about legal costs in migration matters, see Legal Costs in General federal law matters.

Costs for migration proceedings that have concluded:

Item Description Amount (incl. GST)
1 A proceeding concluded at or before the first court date for the proceeding $1,572
2

A proceeding concluded:

  1. after the first court date for the proceeding; and
  2. at or before the hearing under rule 29.11 or other interlocutory hearing
$3,930
3 A proceeding concluded at a final hearing $7,853