The Legal Services Commissioner was ordered to pay the applicant solicitor's costs on a split basis: indemnity costs for proceedings before the Legal Practice Committee and for the QCAT review prior to 16 March 2023 and after 29 April 2025, and standard costs for the intervening review period. The Tribunal held that s 462 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 governs costs only in the Tribunal's original disciplinary jurisdiction (and, via s 19 QCAT Act, the Committee's costs power on review), while ss 100 and 102 of the QCAT Act govern costs for review proceedings — departing from prior QCAT authority. Indemnity costs were justified where the Commissioner persisted with a charge that, properly advised, had no real prospect of success, applying the Bone/Atkins framework and Colgate-Palmolive principles. The decision confirms that the entitlement to legal representation under s 43(2) QCAT Act in disciplinary review proceedings is a relevant factor supporting a costs order under s 102.
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