Attending the small claims court
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Learn more about what to expect when attending a small claims court proceeding.
On this page:
- Preparing for the day
- How a small claims hearing works
- Presenting the case
- What happens if the other party doesn't attend
- The decision
- Enforcing orders
- Tools and resources
- Related information
Preparing for the day
If a dispute isn’t resolved, then you’ll need to attend a hearing. What happens on the day will depend on the court. The court may:
- hear the case and make a decision
- adjourn to a later date
- ask you to try mediation to try and resolve the case without a hearing.
To help prepare for attending a hearing you should:
- review your claim and all documents, including proof of service on your employer
- review any previous communication you had with the employer
- organise all your supporting evidence
- write an outline of what you want to say
- prepare a timeline of key dates and events to refer to during the hearing.
How a small claims hearing works
The process in each jurisdiction may be different.
A small claims hearing may be heard by a judge or registrar of the court and is less formal than a traditional court hearing. Disputes are usually resolved on the first day.
Court officials, such as a registrar, are trained in dispute resolution to help parties reach and agree to a resolution before the final hearing.
Participants should be ready with their evidence to present on the first hearing date. This means you should have copies of the court papers and your supporting evidence, even though the court may already have these documents.
The registrar may send your dispute to mediation to find a solution. If this happens you must attend and are expected to participate in the process. When a dispute is resolved in mediation, a final hearing isn’t required.
If a dispute can’t be resolved at the first hearing or at mediation the case will progress to a later hearing date.
You may also take a support person, but that person cannot speak for you.
Legal representation at small claims court
Parties can’t be represented by a lawyer unless the court allows it.
You can speak to a lawyer for independent legal advice before attending court.
Employee associations, such as a union, or employer association may also be able to provide advice in the lead up to the hearing.
You can find more information on how to get legal advice on our Legal help page.
If you can’t attend court on the required date, you need to let the court and the other party know as soon as possible. The court generally won’t allow dates to be changed without a good reason.
If the respondent doesn’t attend court at the required time, the case may be heard without them. This means that a decision will be made based on the evidence the applicant provides.
If the applicant doesn’t attend court at the required time without good reason, the case may be dismissed.
You can find more information about what happens at a small claims court hearing at Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia - Fair work: Small claims.
Presenting the case
At the hearing the registrar, judge or magistrate will ask both parties to present their case and evidence. This can include:
- pay slips
- bank statements
- contracts
- calculations
- records of hours work
- timesheets.
For tips about what to expect when attending court visit, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia - Etiquette and tips.
What happens if the other party doesn't attend
If the applicant doesn’t attend the court hearing, the court is likely to dismiss their application.
If the respondent doesn’t attend the hearing, the court will want to know that they received notice of the hearing.
A judgment may not be made if the respondent doesn’t attend the hearing and the court may still require the case to be heard and evidence presented.
To learn more about non-attendance visit, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia - Fair work: Small claims.
The decision
The judge or magistrate may decide the case on the day of the hearing or later.
As part of the judgment, the court may make an ‘order’. An order sets out any actions the parties must take based on the court’s decision.
The court may make orders based on the applicant’s evidence only. This isn’t possible if the employee doesn’t attend court on the required day.
The judge or magistrate may order that all or part of the debt is paid or that nothing should be paid. It may also make orders about superannuation obligations and interest if an employee seeks this payment.
Enforcing orders
If an order is made for an amount to be paid, the order will usually set out a date for the amount to be paid by.
Any order made by the court will be made to the applicant personally. This means that only the applicant can take steps to enforce the order if the other party doesn’t comply.
If the amount set out in an order isn’t paid to the applicant, an applicant may be able to take further legal action to enforce the order. The process for enforcing orders may be different between courts.
For more information about enforcing an order and what steps to take, you should seek independent legal advice. Find out more about accessing legal advice at Legal help.
