Section 33ZDA of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) permits a Group Costs Order incorporating a 'ratchet' or sliding scale mechanism, but such an order requires a proper evidentiary basis establishing why the percentage should change at the proposed thresholds and what returns would accrue at those points. The quality of legal work and evidence adduced in support of a GCO application is a legitimate and potentially decisive factor in resolving multiplicity disputes between competing representative proceedings.
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