Preparing and filing documents

Documents for cases in the trial division of the Supreme Court of Victoria can be filed in the following ways:

Commercial Court, Common Law Division and Costs Court

eFiling - legal practitioners can file all court documents for civil cases using the Court's electronic filing and case management system, RedCrest.

Probate Office

All documents except for original wills must be submitted via the electronic filing system RedCrest-Probate.

An original will, or document to be resealed, should be posted to the Probate Office address on the Contact us page. 

Criminal Division

All documents to be filed in a proceeding in the Criminal Division must be filed using the Court's electronic filing and case management system RedCrest, except for:

• Indictments
• Trial and plea exhibits
• Any documents relating to applications under the:
  • Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth)
  • Corrections Act 1986 (Vic)
  • Crime (Assumed Identities) Act 2004 (Vic)
  • Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 (Vic)
  • Major Crime (Investigative Powers) Act 2004 (Vic)
  • Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth)
  • Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic)
  • Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003 (Vic)
  • Witness Protection Act 1991 (Vic).

This includes proceedings initiated prior to 29 January 2019, which will remain as paper files.

Certificates are filed at the start of civil proceedings and when defending a claim. You will need to file certifications using:

• Form 4A Overarching Obligations certificate, signed by the parties in person, or in the case of a company by a director.
• Form 4B Proper Basis certificate signed by the legal representative.

An affidavit is a written statement describing the facts of a matter to be used as evidence. An affidavit must be sworn or affirmed as the truth before a person (a witness) who is authorised to administer the oath. Affidavits are often required to support an application made to the Court.

Statutory declarations are not accepted as a substitute for affidavits in Supreme Court proceedings.

Having your affidavit sworn or affirmed

To find out who can witness an affidavit refer to section 19 of the Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018 or refer to persons authorised to witness affidavits in Victoria.

If an affidavit is sworn outside of Victoria, for use in a Victorian court, refer to section 21 of the Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018.

Some officers in the Supreme Court Registry and Justices of the Peace are authorised to witness affidavits. Justices of the Peace are volunteers. To find a Justice of the Peace, refer to Home - Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices (rvahj.org.au)

Exhibits

Exhibits to an affidavit are supporting documents or other forms of physical evidence, which help the reader understand the claims being made.  

Resources

Please refer to prepare an affidavit and order 43, chapter I, of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 for more information.

Pleadings are a series of written statements exchanged between the parties in a proceeding. Pleadings help to define the issues that must be determined by setting out and clarifying the claims and defences of the parties.

Pleadings include the statement of claim, defence and reply. They must be divided into numbered paragraphs with one allegation included in each paragraph.

Permission must be obtained from the Court to serve pleadings after the reply. In general, parties cannot make new claims and assertions that were not included in their pleadings, without the permission of the Court.

For more information about pleadings, refer to order 13, chapter I, of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015; order 14, chapter I, of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 sets out requirements for the service of pleadings.

Amending a writ or other originating process

A writ or originating process may be amended by obtaining an Order of the Court or without an Order in accordance with rule 36.03.

Under r 36.03, the plaintiff may file an amended writ or other originating process if that writ or originating process has not been served on any party. This rule is most often used to alter the names of parties before service has occurred.

You will need to file:

• an affidavit stating that the writ has not been served
• an amended writ or other originating process, as appropriate

Each amendment must be clearly distinguished from the original document filed.

At the top of your amended document you will need to add the endorsement: 'Amended pursuant to rule 36.03 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015' or 'Amended pursuant to [insert relevant Order of the Court]' (as appropriate).

For more information refer to rule 36.03 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015.

The Costs on Default Judgments and Warrants form shows the amount you are able to claim on your default judgment or warrant.

The Penalty Interest Rates form shows past and current penalty interest rates.

Order 21, chapter I, of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 sets out the requirements of filing a default judgment.