Fee reductions are available in the Supreme or District Court for individuals and organisations facing financial difficulties. This process allows eligible applicants to pay reduced fees for certain civil matters.
You may apply to request that a registrar of the Supreme or District Courts reduce the following civil fees if you’re experiencing financial hardship or believe paying the fee will cause financial hardship:
- filing fees for claims, appeals, or applications
- setting down and daily hearing fees.
Applications are usually processed quickly, often on the same day.
How to apply as a corporation or trustee
- Complete Form 132 - Application for fee reduction by a corporation (DOC, 71.0 KB).
- Attach documents showing your current bank statements, assets, liabilities, and profit/loss.
- File your application at the courthouse you are attending.
How to apply as an individual
Eligibility
You can apply to pay a reduced fee for a legal case if you are an individual and meet one of these conditions:
- you have received legal assistance from Legal Aid Queensland or the Public Trustee for the proceeding
- you hold a current repatriation health card or repatriation pharmaceutical benefits card
- you have a current health care card, pensioner concession card, seniors health card, or another Commonwealth-issued health concession card
- you are receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy, or ABSTUDY payments.
If you do not meet the above criteria, you may be able to apply on the grounds of financial hardship.
Financial hardship eligibility
If you don’t meet the conditions and face financial difficulties, you can still apply for a reduced fee.
To have your application for a fee reduction approved, you must demonstrate that your income, daily living expenses, liabilities, and assets make paying the fee a financial hardship. Examples of supporting documentation:
- current bank balance
- wage/salary
- utilities.
How to apply for a reduced fee
- Complete Form 131 - Application for fee reduction by an individual (DOC, 104.5 KB)
- Provide proof that you meet one of the conditions above (e.g., a copy of your concession card, proof you are granted legal aid, a copy of your utilities bill etc.)
- File your application at the courthouse you are attending, either:
- when you lodge any documents required under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 or a practice direction on which a relevant fee is payable; or
- within any time required to pay the fee (in the case of a setting down and hearing fee payable after a matter has been set down for trial/hearing by a judge or registrar).
Please note: Your application may be rejected if you don’t provide all required documents or fail to show financial hardship.
What the registrar considers
For corporations or trustees
The registrar will approve your application if:
- you’ve specified whether it’s under the Corporations Act 2001 or Admiralty Act 1988
- you’ve nominated the fee to be reduced
- you’ve provided enough financial details to show you can’t pay the fee
- the application is signed and sworn/affirmed.
For individuals
The registrar will approve your application if:
- you’ve nominated the fee to be reduced
- you’ve provided proof of eligibility or financial hardship
- the application is signed and sworn/affirmed.
If your application is approved
You’ll still need to pay a reduced fee. The amount depends on:
- whether you’re applying as an individual or corporation
- whether your application is under the Corporations Act 2001 or Admiralty Act 1988.
If the registrar approves your application to reduce the filing fee on an originating document and your matter is set down for hearing at a later stage, you don’t have to pay the setting down and hearing fee.
If your application is refused
You can ask a judge to review the registrar’s decision.
- Complete Form 9 - Application (UCPR) (DOC, 45.5 KB).
- File it as soon as possible. There’s no fee for this application.
The judge may review the decision with or without a formal hearing. If the judge upholds the registrar’s decision, you’ll need to pay the full fee to continue your case.
Contact us
Find your closest Supreme or District courthouse
