Generally, the practice in the ERD Court is for each party to pay their own costs. However, the ERD Court may order costs against the losing party in any proceedings where it is of the opinion that the proceedings appear frivolous or vexatious, or the proceedings have been instituted to delay or obstruct [Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993 (SA) s 17(4), 17(4a)].

The attitude of the Court towards legal costs will depend on the nature of the dispute as well as the conduct of the parties. Costs will usually be awarded against the losing party in civil enforcement or judicial review cases. There is also some interstate and Federal precedent for the idea that public interest litigants should be protected from adverse costs orders, however this has not been fully tested in South Australian courts.

In all cases, the person initiating the legal action will have to pay Court fees, which are published on the Courts Administration Authority website.