The claim is likely to be heard and decided on the first court date. However, you might first have to attend mediation or attend a directions hearing. These usually take place in front of a judicial registrar of the Court. The judicial registrar, who is specially trained to help disputing parties reach agreement, will encourage you to discuss the claim, review documents and try to resolve some or all of the issues before the final hearing.

If mediation is arranged, you must attend, and you will be expected to participate in the mediation process. This means being ready to argue your case and having all your evidence ready. If you do not attend the mediation, the claim could be dismissed or decided in your absence.

In some cases, the claim is resolved at mediation and there is no need to proceed to a final hearing. If the claim cannot be resolved at mediation, a final hearing date will be set (if it has not already been set) and the claim will be heard in front of a judge.

Hearings of small claims are generally quite informal. In these hearings, the Court is not bound by the rules of evidence and may inform itself of any matter in any manner it thinks fit.

You cannot have a lawyer represent you at the hearing(s) unless the Court permits you to. You must apply for such permission, using the Interlocutory Application, accompanied by an Affidavit explaining why you need a lawyer. Or you can ask the judge in person when you are in court.

If you are not sure what is going to happen on a hearing date, you should check with the Court registry.

Non-attendance

If you as the applicant, do not attend the Court hearing, the Court is likely to dismiss your application.

If the respondent, does not attend the hearing, the Court will want to know whether they received notice of the hearing. You will need to show the Court that the respondent was served with a copy of the application. If you cannot show the Court that the respondent was properly served, the Court may adjourn the hearing to allow more time to properly serve the respondent.

If you can show that the application was properly served on the respondent, the judicial officer will usually consider your evidence and decide the case in the respondent’s absence. You do not automatically get judgment against a respondent who does not attend the hearing. You will still have to prove your claim based on evidence. If the evidence convinces the judicial officer of your claim, you may be awarded some or all of the amount claimed.

In some circumstances, you can apply to the Court to set aside a judgment made in your absence. You will need to file an Interlocutory Application and an accompanying Affidavit explaining why you did not attend the hearing. The time limits for making this kind of application are strict. You should contact the Court for further guidance if you wish to make this kind of application.

You are encouraged to try to resolve your claim without the need for a court hearing. There are a number of ways you can seek an early resolution of your matter including informally or following court-ordered mediation.

Pre-litigation

The quickest and easiest way for an applicant to resolve a dispute is to use the other party’s internal complaint handling options. You could also try talking or writing to them to try to resolve the matter by agreement.

Another option is to try to resolve your dispute with the help of a third-party mediator. Community justice centres and some private dispute resolution providers offer free or low-cost mediation services.

Mediation

Sometimes, you will be ordered to attend mediation with a specially trained registrar of the Court. If mediation is arranged, you must attend, and you will be expected to participate in the mediation process. This means being ready to argue your case and having all your evidence ready.

Alternatively, the parties may agree to use a private mediator appointed under the scheme conducted by the law society or independent bar of the state or territory in which the proceeding was commenced, or otherwise as agreed.

By consent between the parties

If you and the other party resolve your dispute at any time before the judge delivers a decision, you may notify the Court that you have reached agreement. You will need to send the Court a draft of what you have agreed, signed by each party and stating that it is a ‘consent order’. Either party may send the draft order by email, provided the other party is copied on the email.

Discontinuance

You can choose to discontinue the application at any time before the first court date or, if the proceeding is continuing on pleadings, any time before the pleadings have closed, by filing a Notice of discontinuance with the Court.

You will need the other party’s consent or the Court’s permission if you want to file a Notice of discontinuance if the first court date has occurred or pleadings have closed (see Rule 23.02).

For more information about resolving your dispute see Dispute resolution.

If you have been served, you should read the application as soon as possible. The person who filed the application with the Court is known as the applicant and you (as the other party) are known as the respondent.

What should I do next?

Small claims

If a small claims application has been served on you, you have various options.

You might admit the claim or negotiate an agreement with the applicant and agree to pay the money as a lump sum or in instalments.

You might dispute the claim, either in part or in full. In that case, you should prepare and file a:

• Response – General federal law, or defence, and
• any supporting documents.

The application served on you will usually include a hearing date. You must attend that hearing. If you don’t attend, the Court could make orders against you if the applicant can show that you were aware of the proceedings and that they have a valid claim.

If you cannot file a response before the hearing because the applicant has not given you enough time to prepare your response, you should still attend the hearing and tell the Court that you have not had enough time to prepare a response. You should be ready, however, that a judicial officer might still decide to hear the case on the day.

Other consumer matters

You should respond to the claim if you:

• consent to the orders sought, or
• are seeking different orders, or
• are seeking to dismiss the claim, or
• are making a cross-claim.

You must file a:

• Response – General federal law, and
• either:
  • a supporting Affidavit (if the applicant filed an Affidavit), or
  • a defence or points of defence (if the applicant filed a statement of claim or points of claim).

If you do not file a response, you must file and serve a Notice of address for service before the hearing.

Filing and serving the response

If you do respond to the claim, you will need to file and serve the response and any supporting documents within 28 days after the day on which you were served. If the hearing date is less than 28 days from when you are served, you should still try to file and serve your response at least a few days before the hearing. 

You should file all documents for the Court online, through eLodgment. See the Federal Court website for information on how to use eLodgment.

If it is not possible to file using eLodgment, you may be able to file your documents in person, by mail, or in certain circumstances by fax or email. Contact the Court if you are not sure how to file the documents. 

Any documents filed with the Court must be served on the applicant. You can serve documents by delivering them in-person, posting them, emailing them or faxing them.

Seeking legal advice

You should seek legal advice about your matter as soon as possible. A lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities. They can also explain how the law applies to your case. The law can be complex and it is important to obtain some independent legal advice in relation to your situation.  

A community legal centre or legal aid may be able to assist you with advice. 

You are encouraged to try to resolve your claim without coming to court. You can do this informally or you might reach a resolution following court-ordered mediation. See Avoiding court for more information about other options. 

Seeking legal advice

You should seek legal advice about your matter as soon as possible. A lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities. They can also explain how the law applies to your case. Consumer law can be complex and it is important to obtain independent legal advice in relation to your situation.

A community legal centre or legal aid may be able to assist you with advice.

How to apply

If you are not able to resolve the issue and want to make a claim, you will need to complete an application and file it with the Court, together with other documents that support your case, then notify the other party. 

You will need to file: 

• an Originating Application – General federal law, and
• either:
  • an Affidavit,
  • or statement of claim or points of claim to support your application, and
• the supporting documents. 

You may need to prepare an Affidavit to support your application. If you need to file an affidavit, see the fact sheet Preparing an affidavit.  

Preparing a small claim 

If you are applying under the small claims process you will need to provide enough details about your claim so that the Court and the other party (the ‘respondent’) can understand the claim. You do not need to use ‘legal language’ when setting out the details of your claim. You should describe, in your own words, what happened, making sure to include all the important points of your claim. You will need to provide supporting evidence, so gather all the relevant documents before you proceed. 

What do I need to pay to start a proceeding? 

You need to pay a filing fee to the Court when you file the application.

In some circumstances, you may be exempt from paying court fees, for example, if you are a concession holder. You will need to apply to the Court for the exemption, using the Application form for Exemption from Paying Court Fees – General. You can also apply for an exemption if paying court fees would cause you financial hardship. Use the Application form for Exemption from Paying Court Fees – Financial Hardship. 

For the current fees and more information about applying for a fee exemption see Fees.   

Filing with the Court 

Wherever possible, you must file court documents online using eLodgment. You may also eLodge documents regarding a proceeding including draft orders, consent orders, and case management correspondence. See the Federal Court website for information on how to use eLodgment.

If it is not possible to file using eLodgment, you may be able to file your documents in-person, by mail, or in certain circumstances, by fax or email. Contact the Court if you are not sure how to file the documents. 

How do I notify the respondent? 

After your application has been filed, you must ‘serve’ the application on the respondent as soon as possible and at least 5 days before the first court date. That means you must make sure that the respondent receives the filed documents. At the hearing, the judicial officer will often ask for evidence that you have served the documents.   

You can serve the documents by delivering them in person. If the respondent is an organisation, corporation or partnership you may be able to send the documents by registered or express post to their registered office (see Division 10.1 of the General Federal Law Rules).

If you cannot serve the documents in person or the documents sent by post cannot be delivered, you can apply to the Court for an order that you may serve the documents in a different way, for example, by email. This is known as ‘substituted service’. You make that application by filing an Interlocutory Application with an accompanying Affidavit – General federal law and migration explaining why you want to serve the application in a different way. The Court will then consider whether to make an order for substituted service. If an order is made, you will need to serve the documents as set out in the order.

After the documents have been served, you will need to complete an Affidavit of service, which you should file with the Court (using eLodgment).

The affidavit of service must be sworn or affirmed in front of a person authorised by law to witness the swearing of affidavits, such as a lawyer or Justice of the Peace. You should have a copy of the filed affidavit of service with you at the Court hearing. The affidavit of service will prove that the respondent received the documents and therefore knows about the Court hearing.   

The respondent may choose to file a response before the first court date. If the respondent files a response, it must be filed and served within 28 days after the application was received.

Costs

In proceedings brought under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, see Part 15 and Part 32 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025.

In proceedings brought under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, costs may be awarded in accordance with section 200 of that Act.

For more information on costs, parties and their lawyers should refer to Part 9 of the Central Practice Direction – General Federal Law proceedings and legal costs in general federal law matters.

What claims can the Court hear?

Competition and Consumer Act

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (the Court) has jurisdiction under various provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Jurisdiction is conferred on the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in any matter arising under section 46, Part IVB or IVBB, section 55B, subsection 56BO(1) or 56BU(1), section 56BZA, 56BZB or 56BZC, subsection 56BZD(1), section 56BZJ, Part IVE, a civil penalty provision of a gas market instrument or a civil penalty provision of the consumer data rules in respect of which a civil proceeding is instituted by a person other than the Minister (see section 86).

The Court has power to provide injunctive relief and award damages up to $750,000.

Credit Protection Act

The Court also has jurisdiction over consumer credit matters under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

For some compensation matters, you can ask that your application for an order covered by subsection 199(2) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 be dealt with as a small claim where the amount involved is up to $40,000 or the value of the contract under which the dispute arose is up to $40,000.

The small claims process is more informal than most court proceedings and is usually conducted without lawyers. The process aims to settle disputes quickly and fairly, with minimum expense to the parties. Matters are usually resolved with only one hearing.

Rules about the conduct of small claim applications in the Court can be found in part 29 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025.