Ford, in the matter of Careers Australia Group Ltd (in liq) v Mansfield

Careers Australia Group Ltd (in liq) v Mansfield concerned an application by the plaintiffs, the liquidators of Careers Australia Group Ltd, to serve the originating process and affidavits on defendants located outside Australia. The primary focus of the case was the interaction between rules 10.24 and 10.49 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) regarding the service of process outside Australia. The plaintiffs sought leave to serve the defendants by substituted service, arguing that personal service was impracticable due to the defendants' overseas residency and unavailability.

The court had to determine whether it was appropriate to grant substituted service under the Federal Court Rules, considering the impracticability of personal service. It also needed to assess whether the substituted service method proposed by the plaintiffs would effectively bring the defendants' attention to the proceedings. Furthermore, the court needed to decide whether to exercise its discretion to dispense with the requirement that personal service be attempted before substituted service could be effected.

The court found that personal service on the defendants was impracticable and granted the plaintiffs' application for substituted service. The court exercised its discretion to dispense with the requirement of attempting personal service first. The court concluded that the proposed substituted service methods, including emailing the defendants and their local solicitors, and posting copies of the documents to the local solicitors, were appropriate given the circumstances. The court held that these methods would effectively bring the defendants' attention to the proceedings and promote the overarching purpose of the rules. The court made detailed orders for the service of the originating process and affidavits on the defendants, specifying the methods and addresses for service.