County Court (Chapter I Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 2021 (Vic)
County Court (Chapter I Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 2021
S.R. No. 158/2021
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Rule Page
Part 1—Preliminary
1Object
2Authorising provisions
3Commencement
4Principal Rules
Part 2—Inspection and affidavits
5Rule 28.05 substituted
6New Rule 43.00 inserted
7Content of affidavit
8Rule 43.06 substituted
9Statute law revision
10Form 43A substituted
Part 3—Circuit fees, expenses and allowances
11Schedule 1 substituted
12Witnesses' expenses and interpreters' allowances
Part 4—Mediation by Registrar
13Reference to mediator
14New Rule 50.07.2 inserted
Part 5—Lists of Commercial Division
15Lists of Commercial Division—replacement of Expedited Cases List with Complex Cases List
16Lists of Commercial Division—establishment of Arbitration List
17New Part 8 of Order 34A inserted
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Endnotes
STATUTORY RULES 2021
S.R. No. 158/2021
County Court Act 1958
County Court (Chapter I Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 2021
A majority of the Judges of the County Court makes the following Rules:
Part 1—Preliminary
1Object
The object of these Rules is to amend Chapter I of the Rules of the County Court—
(a)to make further provision in relation to the inspection of documents and certification of exhibits to affidavits;
(b)to provide for an increase to—
(i)the circuit fees in Schedule 1 to those Rules; and
(ii)the witnesses' expenses and interpreters' allowances in Schedule 2 to those Rules;
(c)to provide for a proceeding or a part of a proceeding to be referred to a Registrar for mediation; and
(d)to make the following changes to Lists of the Commercial Division—
(i)replacing the Expedited Cases List with a Complex Cases List; and
(ii)establishing a new Arbitration List.
2Authorising provisions
These Rules are made under section 78 of the County Court Act 1958 and all other enabling powers.
3Commencement
(1)These Rules, except Parts 3, 4 and 5, come into operation on the day on which they are made.
(2)Part 3 comes into operation on 1 January 2022.
(3)Part 4 comes into operation on 31 January 2022.
(4)Part 5 comes into operation on 1 March 2022.
4Principal Rules
In these Rules, the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018[1] are called the Principal Rules.
Part 2—Inspection and affidavits
5Rule 28.05 substituted
For Rule 28.05 of the Principal Rules substitute—
"28.05 Inspection of documents
(1)Subject to this Rule, when the office of the Court is open, any person, on payment of the proper fee, may inspect and obtain a copy of any document filed in a proceeding.
(2)A person not a party may not inspect or obtain a copy of the following documents without leave of the Court—
(a)affidavits;
(b)exhibits to affidavits;
(c)witness statements;
(d)expert reports, including those filed pursuant to Order 33 or Order 44 of these Rules; and
(e)written submissions, outlines of argument and chronologies.
(3)Paragraph (2) does not apply to a document that has been—
(a)read or relied on in open court; or
(b)relied on in an application determined without a hearing.
(4)No person may inspect or obtain a copy of a document which the Court has ordered remain confidential.
(5)A person not a party may not, without leave of the Court, inspect or obtain a copy of a document which, in the opinion of the Registrar, ought to remain confidential to the parties.".
6New Rule 43.00 inserted
Before Rule 43.01 of the Principal Rules insert—
"43.00 Definitions for this Order
In this Order—
bundle exhibit means an exhibit containing one or more documents referred to in an affidavit, ordered in the sequence that those documents are referred to;
confidential bundle exhibit means an exhibit containing one or more documents that the party filing the affidavit claims are confidential.".
7Content of affidavit
After Rule 43.03(2) of the Principal Rules insert—
"(3)An affidavit that has a bundle exhibit or a confidential bundle exhibit annexed to it shall—
(a)have the pages sequentially numbered from the first page of the affidavit to the last page of the bundle exhibit or the confidential bundle exhibit (as applicable, and if both, whichever is the latter); and
(b)identify, in the body of the affidavit, any reference to a document contained in a bundle exhibit or a confidential bundle exhibit by reference to the page numbers applied to it in accordance with paragraph (a).".
8Rule 43.06 substituted
For Rule 43.06 of the Principal Rules substitute—
'43.06 Exhibits
(1)* * * * *
Note
Chapter I of the Rules of the Supreme Court includes a paragraph (1) that is inapplicable to these Rules.
(2)Subject to paragraph (3), where one or more documents are referred to in an affidavit, they shall be annexed to the affidavit as a bundle exhibit.
(3)Where one or more documents are referred to in an affidavit and the party filing the affidavit claims that the documents are confidential, they shall be annexed to the affidavit as a confidential bundle exhibit.
(4)A bundle exhibit to an affidavit shall be identified by a certificate annexed to it—
(a)bearing the same heading as the affidavit; and
(b)signed by the deponent and the person before whom the affidavit is sworn or affirmed.
(5)The certificate shall—
(a)be in Form 43A; and
(b)contain in the bottom right hand corner of the page in bold type and in a font size not less than 20 points the distinguishing mark of the exhibit and the words "Bundle of documents referred to in the affidavit of" or "Bundle of confidential documents referred to in the affidavit of" (as applicable) followed by—
(i)the name of the deponent; and
(ii)the date that the affidavit was made.'.
9Statute law revision
(1)In Rule 43.01(5), (6) and (7) of the Principal Rules, after "sworn" insert "or affirmed".
(2)In Rule 43.02(1) of the Principal Rules, after "sworn" (where twice occurring) insert "or affirmed".
(3)In Rule 43.04 of the Principal Rules, after "sworn" (where twice occurring) insert "or affirmed".
(4)In Rule 43.05(1) of the Principal Rules, after "sworn" insert "or affirmed".
(5)In Rule 43.07 of the Principal Rules, after "sworn" insert "or affirmed".
10Form 43A substituted
For Form 43A of the Principal Rules substitute—
'Form 43A—Certificate identifying exhibit or exhibits
Rule 43.06(5)
CERTIFICATE IDENTIFYING EXHIBIT OR EXHIBITS
[heading as in affidavit]
*This is the exhibit marked [e.g. "ABC1"]/*These are the exhibits marked [list exhibits in bundle of documents or bundle of confidential documents as applicable e.g. "ABC1", "DEF2" etc] now produced and shown to [identify deponent] at the time of swearing or affirming the person's affidavit on [date].
[Signature of deponent]
[Signature of person taking affidavit]
[state distinguishing mark of exhibit or exhibits
and briefly and specifically describe each exhibit,
bundle of documents or bundle of confidential
documents, as applicable [use a schedule if
insufficient space]: e.g. Exhibit "ABC1"
Letter BHP to CRA 15/6/09]
print distinguishing mark and description in bold type and in a font size not less than 20 points in bottom right hand corner of the page.
*Delete if not applicable.'.
Part 3—Circuit fees, expenses and allowances
11Schedule 1 substituted
For Schedule 1 to the Principal Rules substitute—
"Schedule 1—Circuit fees
Circuit town
Fee for first dayFurther fee for each subsequent day Bairnsdale $646.00 $429.00 Ballarat $409.00 $277.00 Bendigo $487.00 $324.00 Geelong $349.00 $221.00 Hamilton $669.00 $447.00 Horsham $669.00 $447.00 Mildura $819.00 $544.00 Morwell $493.00 $324.00 Sale $580.00 $384.00 Shepparton $562.00 $378.00 Wangaratta $616.00 $406.00 Warrnambool $646.00 $429.00 Wodonga $669.00 $447.00
".
12Witnesses' expenses and interpreters' allowances
(1)In clause 1(1) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules—
(a)for "$201.00–$403.00" substitute
"$203.00–$408.00";
(b)for "$2501.00" substitute "$2535.00".
(2)In clause 1(2) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$416.00" substitute "$421.00".
(3)In clause 1(2) and (3) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$749.00" substitute "$759.00".
(4)In clause 1(3) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$124.00" substitute "$125.00".
(5)In clause 3(1) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$83.00" substitute "$84.00".
(6)In clause 3(1) and (2) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$363.00" substitute "$367.00".
(7)In clause 3(2) of Schedule 2 to the Principal Rules, for "$208.00" substitute "$211.00".
Part 4—Mediation by Registrar
13Reference to mediator
For Rule 50.07(11) of the Principal Rules substitute—
"(11)This Rule does not apply to the reference of a proceeding or any part of a proceeding to mediation by—
(a)a judicial registrar under Rule 50.07.1; or
(b)a Registrar under Rule 50.07.2.".
14New Rule 50.07.2 inserted
After Rule 50.07.1 of the Principal Rules insert—
"50.07.2 Mediation by Registrar
(1)Without limiting Rule 50.07(1), at any stage of a proceeding the Court constituted by a Judge, an associate judge or a judicial registrar, with or without the consent of any party, may order that the proceeding or any part of the proceeding be referred to a Registrar for mediation.
(2)A Registrar who undertakes a mediation may give any direction with respect to the conduct of the mediation as the Registrar thinks fit.
(3)Except so far as the Court constituted by a Judge, an associate judge or a judicial registrar otherwise orders, an order for mediation under this Rule shall not operate as a stay of the proceeding.".
Part 5—Lists of Commercial Division
15Lists of Commercial Division—replacement of Expedited Cases List with Complex Cases List
(1)For Rule 34A.06(1)(b) of the Principal Rules substitute—
"(b)the Complex Cases List;".
(2)For Rule 34A.06(3) of the Principal Rules substitute—
"(3)The Complex Cases List shall consist of any proceeding where it is appropriate for that proceeding to be subject to more intensive case management.".
16Lists of Commercial Division—establishment of Arbitration List
(1)For Rule 34A.06(1)(d) of the Principal Rules substitute—
"(d)the Arbitration List;".
(2)For Rule 34A.06(6) of the Principal Rules substitute—
"(6)The Arbitration List shall consist of any proceeding under the Commercial Arbitration Act 2011.".
17New Part 8 of Order 34A inserted
After Rule 34A.29 of the Principal Rules insert—
"Part 8—Transitional provisions
34A.30County Court (Chapter I Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 2021
The proceedings of which the Expedited Cases List consisted immediately before 1 March 2022 are, on that day, taken to be entered in the Complex Cases List.
Note
1 March 2022 is the day on which the Complex Cases List was established by the County Court (Chapter I Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 2021.".
Dated: 10 December 2021
| PETER KIDD, Chief Judge | P. COSGRAVE |
| M. E. SEXTON | G. F. MEREDITH |
| FRANCES E. HOGAN | R. W. DYER |
| IRENE LAWSON | C. M. QUIN |
| P. J. COISH | SARA HINCHEY |
| F. P. HAMPEL | A. J. CHAMBERS |
| J. G. MORRISH | A. TSALAMANDRIS |
| L. A. HANNAN | SAMANTHA L. MARKS |
| C. M. O'NEILL | GREGORY LYON |
| P. G. MISSO | TED WOODWARD |
| K. L. BOURKE | C. R. GWYNN |
| P. M. E. WISCHUSEN | D. A. TRAPNELL |
| FRANK GUCCIARDO | M. G. O'CONNELL |
| MARK GAMBLE | A. M. RYAN |
| GERARD MULLALY | T. E. WRAIGHT |
| J. L. PARRISH | P. J. F. HIGHAM |
| MICHAEL H. TINNEY | P. R. RIDDELL |
| G. CANNON | MICHAEL CAHILL |
| M. E. DEAN | S. DAWES |
| JOHN CARMODY | S. JOHNS |
| M. F. MACNAMARA | D. A. SEXTON |
| BILL STUART | MARTINE MARICH |
| D. G. BROOKES | P. J. GINNANE |
| ELIZABETH BRIMER | J. VANDERSTEEN |
| G. A. GEORGIOU | JULIE CLAYTON |
| A. S. PILLAY | A. ROBERTSON |
| R. E. CARLIN | M. DEMPSEY |
| ANNE HASSAN | S. BURCHELL |
| KEVIN DOYLE | P. TIWANA |
| JOHN CAIN | KATE HAWKINS |
| F. L. DALZIEL | S. BAYLES |
| S. LEIGHFIELD | K. BLAIR |
| DAVID J. N. PURCELL | NOLA KARAPANAGIOTIDIS |
| F. H. TODD | DANIEL P. HOLDING |
| MY ANH TRAN | ANGELA ELLIS |
| J. HANNEBERY |
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Endnotes
[1] Rule 4: S.R. No. 170/2018 as amended by S.R. Nos 29/2019, 69/2019, 106/2019, 142/2019, 16/2020, 27/2020 and 28/2021.
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