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284A: Security for costs
or “The court can ask someone to pay money upfront to cover possible costs of a case.”
You could also call this:

“The Environment Court can decide who pays for the costs of court cases and how much they should pay.”

The Environment Court can make you pay for the costs of other people involved in a case if they think it’s fair. This includes things like paying for witnesses. The court can also make you pay for some of the court’s own costs.

There are special rules for some types of cases. In these cases, the court usually won’t make someone pay if they’re involved because they care about the environment or the community. The court will usually make the person who started the case pay for the court’s costs.

If you don’t show up for a hearing or don’t tell people you’re not going ahead with your case, you might have to pay for other people’s costs or the court’s costs.

Sometimes, the court can make you pay for the costs of local councils who help the court. This usually happens when the council gives the court a report about your case.

In all these situations, the court will think carefully about what’s fair before deciding who should pay for what.

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Next up: 286: Enforcing orders for costs

or “How to make someone pay for court costs when the Environment Court says they should”
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Part 11 Environment Court
Procedure and powers

285Awarding costs

  1. The Environment Court may order any party to proceedings before it to pay to any other party the costs and expenses (including witness expenses) incurred by the other party that the court considers reasonable.

  2. Subsection (1) does not apply if the Environment Court makes an order under section 308H(2).

  3. The Environment Court may order any party to proceedings before it to pay to the Crown all or any part of the court's costs and expenses.

  4. Subsection (3) does not apply if the Environment Court makes an order under section 308H(3).

  5. In proceedings under section 87G, 149T, 198E, or 198K, the Environment Court must,—

  6. when deciding whether to make an order under subsection (1) or (3),—
    1. apply a presumption that costs under subsections (1) and (3) are not to be ordered against a person who is a party under section 274(1); and
      1. apply a presumption that costs under subsection (3) are to be ordered against the applicant; and
      2. when deciding on the amount of any order it decides to make, have regard to the fact that the proceedings are at first instance.

        1. The Environment Court may order a party who fails to proceed with a hearing at the time the court arranges, or who fails to give adequate notice of the abandonment of the proceedings, to pay to any other party or to the Crown any of the costs and expenses incurred by the other party or the Crown.

        2. The Environment Court may order an applicant to pay the costs and expenses that a consent authority or a territorial authority incurred in assisting the court in relation to a report provided by the authority under section 87F, 165ZFE(6), 198D, or 198J and that the court considers reasonable.

        3. In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (7), the court must apply a presumption that such costs are to be ordered against the applicant.

        Notes
        • Section 285: replaced, on , by section 130 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
        • Section 285(7): inserted, on , by section 47 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 63).
        • Section 285(8): inserted, on , by section 47 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 63).