Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002

A mandatory final offer for the upper offer limit or less must be exclusive of costs.

If a mandatory final offer is for more than the lower offer limit but not more than the upper offer limit, and is accepted, costs are to be calculated and paid on a basis (but subject to limits) stated under a regulation.

Even though a respondent denies liability altogether, the respondent must nevertheless make a mandatory final offer but, in that event, the offer is to be expressed as an offer of $nil.

A mandatory final offer must remain open for 14 days and a proceeding in a court based on a claim must not be started while the offer remains open.

If the claimant starts a proceeding in a court based on the claim, the claimant must, at the start of the proceeding, file at the court a sealed envelope containing a copy of the claimant’s mandatory final offer.

A respondent must, before or at the time of filing a defence, file at the court a sealed envelope containing a copy of the respondent’s mandatory final offer or, if a joint final offer is made by multiple respondents, a copy of the respondents’ mandatory final offer.

The court must not read the mandatory final offers until it has decided the claim.

However, the court must, if relevant, have regard to the mandatory final offers in making a decision about costs.

The court may, on application by a party, dispense with the obligation to make mandatory final offers.