184   Agreements about costs

(1)  An agreement as to the costs of the provision of legal services may be made with a client by:

(a)  the barrister or solicitor who is retained by the client to provide the services, or

(b)  the barrister or solicitor retained on behalf of the client by another barrister or solicitor.

(2)  An agreement as to the costs of the provision of legal services may also be made between the barrister or solicitor providing the services and another barrister or solicitor who retained that barrister or solicitor on behalf of the client.

(3)  An agreement under this section is called a costs agreement.

(4)  A costs agreement is void if it is not in writing or evidenced in writing.

(5)  A costs agreement may form part of a contract for the provision of legal services.

(6)  A costs agreement may consist of a written offer that is accepted in writing or by other conduct. A disclosure in accordance with Division 2 under section 175 or 176 may constitute an offer for the purposes of this subsection.