37666 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice

37666 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice: Did the minister recommend the reduction of the application fee to become a King's Counsel from $500 to $108.70; if so why?

Hon Paul Goldsmith: On 13 May Cabinet agreed my proposal to amend regulations to reduce the fee that barristers pay when applying for appointment as a King’s Counsel.  The fee is reduced from $500 to $125 GST inclusive ($108.70 GST exclusive). The application fee can only be used to recover the costs of the appointment process. The original fee was set in 2012 based on an estimate of administration costs and an assessment of time needed for the process, which was new at the time.  That fee had been over-recovering the actual cost and over time this has led to a surplus in revenue. The new fee will under-recover the costs for a period of time to enable the surplus to be reduced.