Reduction of civil court fees
Supreme and District Courts - Civil
You may apply to the registrar to have the following civil fees considered for reduction if your are experiencing financial hardship or believe that paying the fee will cause you financial hardship.
- filing fee for an originating document - Claim, Counterclaim, Originating Application, Appeal or Cross Appeal;
- the setting down and daily hearing fees.
Your application can be determined quickly and usually without extensive investigation.
If your application is granted you will still have to pay the reduced fee. The amount of this reduced fee depends on whether you are an individual or a corporation, and whether your originating application is one made under the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) or Admiralty Act 1988 (Commonwealth), or not (see Item 7 of Schedule 1 Uniform Civil Procedure (Fees) Regulations 2009.
If your application is refused you can apply to a judge to have the registrar’s decision reviewed.
If the judge does not overturn the registrar’s decision, and you wish to continue your proceeding, you will have to pay the full fee.
The following legislation may assist you:
Uniform Civil Procedure (Fees) Regulation 2009
Information on what will be considered by the registrar:
UCPR Fees Fee Reduction - what will be considered by the registrar