Electronic filing – Magistrates Court

The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (UCPR) include rules about electronic filing.

New rules were introduced in 2018 that allow the Principal Registrars of the Magistrates Courts to decide which documents are approved for electronic filing and conditions that apply (if any).

Below is a list of approved documents, and information about any conditions that apply.

In the Magistrates Court electronic filing through an approved service provider was established under the UCPR before the 2018 changes were introduced. Magistrates Courts electronic filing continues to apply under the amended rules.

Sworn documents

Sworn or affirmed documents are a special category of documents where additional rules apply for electronic filing.

To electronically file an affirmed or sworn document, it must be sent to the registry as an imaged document in the approved electronic file format, Portable Document Format (PDF) (refer to Principal Registrar (Magistrates Court) Approval 3 of 2018 (PDF, 22.8 KB)) and Principal Registrar (Magistrates Court) Approval 1 of 2024 (PDF, 189.0 KB).

The original affirmed or sworn document must be retained for 7 years from the date of filing. The party or solicitor filing the document must produce the paper form of the document if required by the court during that timeframe.

Exempt sworn documents

Prescribed information from a sworn or affirmed document can, in some cases, be electronically submitted to the registrar instead of filing the document or an imaged copy of it. The registrar must acknowledge receipt of the information. The Principal Registrar of the Magistrates Court has approved the documents below as exempt where these documents are being filed by an approved service provider:

  • affidavit of service of the claim on the defendant
  • affidavit of debt
  • affidavit in support of Enforcement Hearing application
  • statement in support of an Enforcement Warrant application.

For details about prescribed information for the above documents, refer to Principal Registrar (Magistrates Court) approval 2 of 2018 (PDF, 39.7 KB).

In practice, the rules relating to exempt sworn documents apply to eLodgement.

Electronic filing via QCase in the Magistrates Court

All approved forms for use in Magistrates Court civil matters may be filed through the online QCase portal which is managed by Queensland Courts. Some forms may be completed online directly within the portal (guided forms) and others must be completed separately and uploaded. The details of how to lodge the forms and which ones may be lodged by these methods are available on the portal.

Refer to Principal Registrar (Magistrates Court) Approval 1 of 2024 (PDF, 189.0 KB)

Electronic filing via a service provider in the Magistrates Court

Below is a list of UCPR forms that the Principal Registrar of the Magistrates Court has approved to be electronically filed in the Magistrates Court via the approved service provider CITEC Confirm. Refer to the approvals detailed in the list below for this and other conditions which may apply to the approval.

UCPR form name and number

Does a condition attach to the approval

Approval

Claim (Form 2 (DOC, 46.0 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Application (Form 9 (DOC, 45.5 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Statement of Claim (Form 16 (DOC, 38.5 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Request for default judgment (Form 25 (DOC, 31.5 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Affidavit (Form 46 (DOCX, 31.2 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Enforcement hearing summons (Form 70 (DOC, 37.5 KB))

Yes

1 of 2018

Request for consent order of registrar (Form 59A (DOC, 57.5 KB))

Yes

1 of 2020

Proposed draft order (Form 59)

Yes

1 of 2020

Notice of discontinuance (Form 27 (DOC, 29.0 KB))

Yes

1 of 2020

You may find information about Electronic lodgement (eLodgement) helpful.

Approvals of the Principal Registrar of the Magistrates Court

The following approvals are relevant to electronic filing: