Civil claims

If someone claims that another person or business owes them money and they haven’t been able to resolve it between themselves, the person who is wanting to be repaid the money can ask a court to assist. This person is known as a ‘claimant’ or ‘civil litigant’.

If someone is seeking to recover $15,000 or less they file a Civil Claim Form at the Magistrates Court. You can download the Self Help form to begin this process yourself.

There are no legal costs for a minor civil claim because parties must represent themselves. However, a party may request Court permission to have legal representation in special circumstances. For example if the other party is a solicitor or you have an intellectual disability.

The Magistrate may award the successful party compensation for nominal witness fees, expenses etc. The Court can only award legal costs to a successful party if a lawyer has been engaged by a party and (in rare circumstances) the lawyer has represented that party at trial. The Court does not generally make orders compensating a self-represented party for the time spent on preparing the claim or conducting the trial.

If someone is wanting to recover between $15000 and $50,000 then they file a Civil Claim at the Magistrates Court.

The court will deal with disputes of more than $50,000 if everyone involved agrees.

The Supreme Court will consider cases where more than $50,000 is being sought by a claimant.

The person or business who the claimants says owes the money must file a Notice of Appearance within 7 days showing that they intend to defend the claim. If they fail to do this a default judgment may be made.

The judge can also direct parties to attend mediation if they believe there is a possibility the case can be resolved without the need for a hearing. There is a fee for each mediation conference and this is shared equally between the parties.