Water Act 2000

In deciding an appeal, the court may—

confirm the review decision; or

set aside the review decision; or

amend the review decision in the way the court considers appropriate; or

send the matter back to the reviewer and give the directions the court considers appropriate; or

set aside the review decision and substitute it with a decision the court considers appropriate.

If the court amends the review decision or substitutes another decision for the review decision, the amended or substituted decision is, for this Act (other than this part) taken to be the reviewer’s decision.

Each party to the appeal must bear the party’s own costs for the appeal.

However, the court may order costs for the appeal, including allowances to witnesses attending for giving evidence at the appeal, as it considers appropriate in the following circumstances—

the court considers the appeal was started merely to delay or obstruct;

the court considers the appeal, or part of the appeal, to have been frivolous or vexatious;

a party has not been given reasonable notice of intention to apply for an adjournment of the appeal;

a party has incurred costs because the party is required to apply for an adjournment because of the conduct of another party;

a party has incurred costs because another party has defaulted in the court’s procedural requirements;

without limiting paragraph (d), a party has incurred costs because another party has introduced, or sought to introduce, new material;

a party to the appeal does not properly discharge its responsibilities in the appeal.

If the court makes an order under subsection (4), the court may also order the party ordered to pay costs under subsection (4) to pay to the other party an amount as compensation for loss or damage suffered by the other party because of the appeal if the court considers—

the appeal was started merely to delay or obstruct; or

the appeal, or part of the appeal, to have been frivolous or vexatious.