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.
