magistrates court
enforcement of interstate debts

A judgment given in another court interstate may be registered in the Magistrates Court of South Australia for enforcement. The same proceedings and rules of enforcement are used as if the judgment had been given in South Australia.

Procedure 

1. A sealed or certified copy of the judgment obtained from the court where the judgment was granted is lodged with the Registry of the court nearest to the judgment debtor's address.

2. This sealed or certified copy of the judgment must be accompanied by an application form entitled Request to Registrar (Form 18), along with the fee payable under item 7 of the Magistrates Court (Fees) Regulations 1992, or check with the Magistrates Court of South Australia on (08) 8204 2444 for the current fees associated with filing these documents. Mark on the Form 18 that you wish to register the judgment.

3. An enforcement process can be issued at the same time of registration of the judgment or at a later date. To issue an enforcement process you can include that on your Form 18 used to register you judgment from an interstate Court. The Enforcement processes you can issue immediately are:

    (1) Investigation Summons
    (2) Summons to Witness if the debt relates to a company.

An appropriate fee is also payable to issue an enforcement process and these fees can be obtained under item 6 of the Magistrates Court (Fees) Regulations 1992, or check with the Magistrates Court of South Australia by telephone on (08) 8204 2444 for the current fees associated with filing these documents.

4. Post the completed Form 18 with the sealed or certified copy of the judgment and your cheque or money order for the required fees to the Magistrates Court Registry nearest to the residence of the judgment debtor, or make other arrangements by phone with the Magistrates Court of South Australia on (08) 8204 2444. 

5. Parties are required to appear at an Investigation Summons or Summons to Witness hearing. If you are unable to attend this hearing please contact the Magistrates Court of South Australia on (08) 8204 2444 to arrange for you to appear by telephone. The debtor will be required to attend in person.

 If the judgment is more than six years old it cannot be registered in the Magistrates Court without leave of a Magistrate.  Such an application would be lodged at the same time as lodging the judgment to register.

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Where can I get further information?

Contact your nearest Magistrates Court Registry or call the One Stop Information Call Centre on 61 8 8204 2444.

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