The pre-lodgement system | How does the system work? | Why use the pre-lodgement system? | When should you use the pre-lodgement system? | The advantages of pre-lodgement | Further questions
The Magistrates Court of South Australia has introduced an inexpensive method of debt collection known as the pre-lodgement system.
The pre-lodgement system allows for individuals or organisations to issue a final notice of claim prior to issuing a formal claim.
This notice can be purchased for a fee (not subject to GST) either via the Internet at efiling.courts.sa.gov.au or over the counter at any Magistrates Court registry.
The system aims to encourage parties to resolve their dispute without needing to resort to the formal legal system.
The final notice of claim provides the potential defendant with a number of alternative courses of action:
to pay the plaintiff the money they seek;
to negotiate a settlement with the plaintiff, which may include part payments;
to seek mediation; or
to ignore the notice and run the risk that the plaintiff lodges a formal claim with the court.
Anyone who can access the Internet is able to visit the pre-lodgement web site at efiling.courts.sa.gov.au.
Once access to the web site is gained, the user will be asked to log on. This requires the user to create a log on name and password. Thus frequent users, such as law firms or government agencies etc, will use the same username and password.
Once the user enters a valid user name and password, they will then proceed to the next screen.
The next screen requires the user to enter their credit card details for payment of generating the notice. There are two checks which are conducted at this stage. The first internal check makes sure that the user has entered the correct amount of numbers for the credit card and also checks the expiry date. If an error is made, the transaction will not proceed and the user will be notified that an error has occurred and to check the details they entered and resubmit their details. The second external check ensures that the credit card is valid, i.e. it has not been reported as stolen. Upon authorisation the user will see another screen which informs them that their transaction has been successful.
Brief instructions are then given as to how to generate their claim form. The user then completes the details required and clicks on "generate notice". The notice is then displayed. The user then prints the notice. The transaction is complete.
Why use the pre-lodgement system?
The pre-lodgement system aims to encourage individuals, businesses and organisations to resolve disputes without pursuing formal dispute resolution processes within the judicial system.
The pre-lodgement system allows for a more cost efficient means of resolving disputes. It is perceived that individuals, businesses and organisations who would normally not pursue formal civil claims because of the costs will use the pre-lodgement system, thus providing access to justice for the whole community.
To ensure against the loss of costs associated with filing a claim, anyone who wishes to sue must first issue either the Final Notice of Claim (Form 1A) or their own version of it. This has now been formalised in the Magistrates Court (Civil) Rules (Rule 20A).
When should you use the pre-lodgement system?
If dispute has arisen an individual, business or organisation can issue a final notice of claim on the other disputing party in an attempt to resolve the dispute without lodging a formal claim in the Magistrates Court.
The plaintiff can either issue the notice themselves via the Internet web site or they can go to any Magistrates Court registry and obtain a notice over the counter. The court does not serve the notice. The plaintiff must serve the notice themselves.
The potential defendant then has 21 days in which to respond to the Notice. If they do not respond within the 21 days then the plaintiff can issue formal proceedings within the court.
an inexpensive means of resolving disputes;
allows access to justice - a cost barrier to justice is removed;
promotes alternative dispute resolution processes;
allows parties to resolve disputes themselves rather than resorting to the formal legal system;
provides justice to the entire South Australian community;
the use of the Internet allows for broad access;
an innovative system that takes advantage of modern technology;
simple to use;
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you have any queries please contact the Magistrates Court Division Call Centre on 61 8 8204 2444 or click here to e-mail the registry.
To go to the pre-lodgement site, click here.
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