The court will hear a variety of matters, such as when you believe someone owes you money or someone has wronged you. You can make a claim against a person or against a company or business.
Whether your case is heard in the Magistrates Court, minor civil, general civil, District Court or Supreme Court will depend on your type of case and how much you are claiming.
Minor claim $12,000 or less
This court deals with minor claims, which includes recovering debts of up to $12,000 and Minor Statutory Proceedings, such as relief from neighbourhood disputes like trespass, nuisance or applications under the Fences Act.
These matters are dealt with minimal formality and the parties involved are not entitled to legal representation except in special circumstances.
General claim $12,001 to $100,000
The Civil (General Claims) Division of the Magistrates Court deals with claims of up to $100,000.
The types of claims that will be dealt with by this court includes contractual disputes, debt and personal injury.
Claims over $100,001
Civil Claims over $100,000 can be heard in either the District or Supreme Court.
While they can be heard in the Supreme Court, cost penalties exist if the amount awarded is below a specific amount. This threshold is based on the Type of claim being made. The threshold is defined in the Uniform Civil Rules 2020.
It is advisable that you seek legal advice before lodging documents if you believe your claim is over $100,000.
Making a claim is when you begin formal legal action against the other party. You make a claim after you have tried the other methods (Final Notice / Letter of Demand) to recover money you believe is owed to you but haven’t been successful. The claim is firstly lodged with the court and then served on the other party. Parties to a civil matter are referred to as Applicants and Respondents.
To commence a case you will be required to lodge a claim electronically via the CourtSA portal.
Once you have completed the online document it will be saved into your CourtSA account under the ‘Documents’ Tab. The document is given a ‘CIV’ number which will create the formal court file.
You will be required to select a location of where you would like your first hearing to be held. It will be necessary to choose a court location as close to where the claim arose or where the respondent(s) lives. For example if, the dispute were over a car accident, you would choose the courthouse nearest to the other party involved in the accident or the court nearest to where the accident occurred.
- the amount that you want to claim
- the correct name and address of the respondent
- the date(s) of the dispute
- the reason that you believe you are owed money
If the other party is a company, you will need to have the correct name and registered office address of the company. If you don’t know these details, contact the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as they have details of all registered Australian companies.
If the other party is a business you will need the name of the owner of the business, the correct business name and the business address. If you don’t know these details, contact Consumer and Business Services and they should be able to assist.
| Type of claim | Supporting documents |
|---|---|
| Less than $12,000 or your claim is not genuinely contestable |
|
| More than $12,000 | |
| Motor vehicle damage in the Magistrates Court |
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| Property damage in the Magistrates Court |
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| Building Work Contractors Act |
|
| Retail and Commercial Leases Act |
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| Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act |
|
| Victims of Crime – Recovery | One of the following:
|
Since 6 April 2020, the Courts Administration Authority no longer accepts cash or cheque payments (Exceptions will be made for the payment of cash bails ordered in court). This was communicated via an announcement from the State Courts Administrator.
Once payment is finalised and approved the documents will be made available to you and it will be your responsibility to notify and serve all required parties with the claim unless otherwise chosen. You can choose your preferred method of service at the time of lodging the initial case via the online CourtSA portal.
There are three ways to serve a claim on the respondent:
- Party – The Applicant serves the documents by way of post, email or in person.
- Legal Representative – serves the documents on behalf of their client (the applicant).
- Sheriff service – A fee is required per person to be served.
It does not cost you anything for you to serve the claim on the respondent by post or email.
If you would like a sheriff’s officer to serve the claim, there will be a fee involved, payment is processed at the time of completing the initial case via the online CourtSA portal.
Please visit the CourtSA Help Centre for further assistance on lodging a claim via the CourtSA online portal.
Matter is resolved in 28 days
If the respondent pays you the money or you both agree to settle for another amount, then the matter has been resolved. You don’t need to take any further court action unless they fail to pay you the amount they agreed. You must inform the registry if this has occurred.
Arrangements for agreed payments should be made between both parties and put in writing. Once payment arrangements have been made, you may choose to sign an Enforceable Payment Agreement. This acknowledges that the respondent has agreed to pay and sets out the arrangements you have made with them for payment to be made.
Claim is contested
The respondent may wish to contest your claim. This is done by filing a defence via the online CourtSA portal. The defence will contain statements as to why the respondent disagrees with your claim. It may also state where the respondent agrees with what you have said. It is a document to let you know what their position is so that the matter can proceed with both parties knowing what the other intends to say about the issue.
Alternatively, the respondent may wish to file a defence and counterclaim. A counterclaim will state reasons why the respondent believes you owe them money. A counterclaim is a claim made by the respondent against you. It is like the respondent filing a separate claim, in the way in which you filed your claim, but for the sake of convenience it is dealt with in the same matter.
A counterclaim will not always be lodged. It will only happen when the respondent believes that they have an action against you. If a counterclaim is lodged the respondent must serve it on you either in person or sent by the court.
No response is received
After you have waited 28 days, if the respondent has not made any response to your claim, you can ask the court for judgment to be entered in your favour.
To do this you will need to:
- log into your CourtSA account and request a Default Judgement against the respondent.
- provide the affidavit of Proof of Service if you have served the claim yourself.
Visit the CourtSA Help Centre for further assistance on how to lodge a Default Judgment. Alternatively you can call the CourtSA Registry on +618 8 8204 2444 or the Legal Services Commission for Legal advice on 1300 366 424.
You are in charge of your claim, not the court.
Judgment will not be entered in your favour without initiating this process via the online CourtSA portal or at a Court Registry.
If you have judgment entered in your favour because the respondent didn’t respond to your claim, the respondent is able to make an application to the court to have judgment set aside.
To have the judgment set aside, the respondent must convince the court that there are good reasons why the respondent didn’t answer your claim and that the respondent has an argument against your claim. The respondent cannot simply apply to avoid payment. There must be a reason. You will be notified if this has occurred.
If judgment is set aside, the matter will continue in the court process. If judgment is not set aside, then the judgment in your favour stands as a judgment of the court and you are able to try recover the amount owed to you.
Civil Cases in the Magistrates Court
Note: For Environment, Resources, and Development (ERD) Court matters, please refer to ERD Directions Hearings.
Directions Hearing
A directions hearing is listed after a defence is filed.
- Description: A directions hearing is not the trial but is held to determine the position of each party and to encourage a resolution of the matter.
- Purpose: You do not need to bring any witnesses to a directions hearing , the hearing is to assess case progress, explore resolution options, clarify positions, and determine settlement potential.
- Outcome: If unresolved, the matter may proceed to mediation or trial. It is important that you understand and comply with any orders made by the court at the directions hearing. If you are confused about what orders the court has made, you may get a copy of the court record of your hearing from the Magistrates Court Registry.
Notification
- Process: Court notifies both parties of the hearing date and time, usually via email.
- Timing: Typically scheduled about six weeks after the defence is filed.
Costs
- Upfront Costs: None.
- Potential Costs: Costs may be incurred that requires the losing party to pay the successful party. Parties are encouraged to agree the amount of costs, however the Court can make a decision ordering an amount to be paid.
Matters Discussed at a Directions Hearing
- Clarification: Determine each party’s position and explore resolution possibilities.
- Encouragement: Facilitate the resolution of the matter by agreement and provide some assistance to assist this to occur.
- Purpose The hearing may assist to resolve some issues and/or narrow the scope of the dispute for trial.
- Next Steps: If there is no resolution, the matter may be referred to a settlement conference, mediation (with consent or by order) or scheduled for trial.
Attendance
- Requirement: Attendance is mandatory for both parties.
- Consequences of non-attendance:
- Applicant’s absence: Respondent may request dismissal.
- Respondent’s absence: Applicant may request judgment in their favour, including claimed amount and costs.
- Unable to Attend: Contact CourtSA Registry at 8204 2444 as soon as possible. Obtain a medical certificate if ill.
Required Documents
- Bring: Supporting documents for your case
- Not Required: Witnesses.
- Advisable: Pen and paper for notes.
After the Hearing
- Agreement Reached: Matter resolved between parties and the applicant may be required to file a notice of discontinuance.
- No Agreement: Listed for mediation or trial, with arrangements made during the hearing. Written confirmation from the registry will follow.
Settlement Conference
After the directions hearing, the matter may be listed for a settlement conference.
- Purpose: The main goal of the settlement conference is to resolve the dispute without going to trial. It provides an opportunity for both parties to discuss the issues and explore possible settlements with the help of a magistrate or registrar.
- Preparation: Before the conference, gather all relevant documents and evidence related to your case. Be ready to discuss the facts, your position, and any settlement offers you are willing to consider.
- Attendance: Both parties involved in the dispute must attend the conference. You may also bring a legal representative if you have one, and the Court has approved legal representation if the matter is a minor civil action.
- Procedure: The conference is usually informal. The magistrate or registrar will facilitate the discussion, helping both parties understand each other’s positions and encouraging a mutually acceptable resolution.
- Outcome: If an agreement is reached, it will be documented and may become a binding court order. If no agreement is reached, the case will proceed to trial.
- Confidentiality: Discussions during the settlement conference are generally confidential and cannot be used as evidence if the case goes to trial.
Offers in settlement
It is very important that you make realistic offers to the other side to settle the matter. Offers should be formally recorded at the settlement conference and expressed to be made ‘save as to costs’ so that they can be relied upon at the conclusion of the case to determine or else it can affect your entitlement to or liability for party/party costs.
The court will expect you to think about how to simplify or limit the issues for trial. Trials are very expensive and should focus on the real issues and not on peripheral issues. You should work out ways of avoiding calling unnecessary evidence and limit the number of witnesses.
The Uniform Civil Rules 2020 provide several ways of dealing with routine matters on how to provide evidence before the court without actually calling witnesses.
If you are going to rely on experts, it will be necessary to obtain a written report from them and give that to the other party not less than 2 business days before the hearing date . It is highly desirable that experts’ reports be agreed. They are very expensive to call as witnesses.
It is very important that you make realistic offers to the other side to settle the matter. These should be formally recorded at the conciliation conference or else it can affect your entitlement to or liability for party/party costs.