Rindeklev v Cth (No 3)

[2026] FCA 1112

Federal Court of Australia

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

1. Costs
1. where employee unsuccessful in Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) action and employer seeks an order for costs
1. Commonwealth's claims of unreasonableness in conduct of proceedings upheld to a limited extent
1. held that employee's conduct entitled the Commonwealth to half of its costs of preparing for and conducting trial

Under s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act, persistence with claims that are obscure, hopeless or lacking a proper factual or legal basis to a final hearing, after settlement offers clearly identifying the deficiencies, can constitute an unreasonable act causing the other party to incur costs, even where the litigant is self-represented.
A self-represented litigant is subject to the same procedural obligations and the same s 570 costs principles as a represented party; self-representation confers no privileged status and does not insulate against a costs order for unreasonable conduct.
Where unreasonableness is established as to only a portion of the proceedings, the court may apportion costs accordingly rather than awarding costs of the whole proceeding.