All claims for criminal matters, including those in the Magistrates' and County Courts, are prepared and submitted to the Board by a legal practitioner, with the application normally being signed by the applicant personally. If there is difficulty in obtaining the applicant's signature, a solicitor may sign on their behalf (s.42 AC Act).

All certificates granted in a civil matter are prepared and submitted to the Board by a legal practitioner.

An application to the Appeal Costs Board must include:

When an application is received by the Registrar of the Board, it is registered, assessed and placed before the Board as soon as practicable. Once it has been considered, (unless it is unsatisfactory or further material is required) a decision will be made whether to issue a certificate authorising payment to the applicant of an amount determined by the Board. This decision is confirmed at the next meeting of the Board and, following confirmation, a letter is forwarded to the applicant's solicitors informing them of the Board's decision, together with a copy of the Board's Certificate, if one is granted.

Depending on the level of complexity, this process can take approximately three months after all the documentation has been received by the Board.

In general, the fees recoverable from the Board are counsel's fees, solicitors' costs, witness expenses, and incidentals (such as interpreters' fees for certificates granted by a court under sections 4, 10 & 16 of the AC Act). The loss of wages caused by the applicant's attendance at court is not recoverable. In the case of witness expenses, the Board requires details as to the nature of the evidence given, and the capacity in which the witness appeared.

In assessing solicitor and counsel costs, the Board is guided by the circumstances of the particular case, but some general guidelines can be stated. For detailed information on applications under the Act, please refer to the guidelines and pro forma documents available from the Board's website (see: "Contacts", at the end of this chapter for details).

For solicitor costs in applications under sections 16 or 17 of the AC Act, the Board usually allows only those costs "thrown away" by reason of the adjournment or discontinuance. If the solicitor attended the court with counsel, that fact is considered when determining the application. If solicitors wish to make a claim for a more substantial award, a detailed bill of costs should be presented, giving details of attendance on an hourly basis.

The Board does not usually make allowance for the cost of counsel preparation; however, if new counsel had to be briefed for a consequent hearing, claims for these costs would be considered (only for section 16 aborted criminal matters).

In relation to counsel's fees, in most cases the Board will allow the full brief (appearance) fee on a daily basis. (Note: section 17 adjournments have caps imposed.)

The current amendments came into operation on 9 June 2004. There is no limit to the amount payable under the most commonly used sections of the AC Act (ss.10, 14, 15 & 16), but it should be noted that costs are subject to the Board's discretion in its determination of what costs are reasonably incurred. For example, the Board can consider issues such as whether the seniority and number of counsel engaged were appropriate for the proceeding.