Costs ordered at first instance do not contribute to the $100,000 monetary threshold for an appeal as of right under s 101(2)(r) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), even in a double appeal where the intermediate appeal included a challenge to those costs. The principle that costs are excluded from the 'matter at issue' applies regardless of whether the costs were challenged in the court below.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 9 later cases that cite this judgment.
4 of the 9 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.