Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999

If neither party appears at the hearing of an employment claim, the court may dismiss the proceeding.

If the plaintiff does not appear at the hearing but the defendant does, the court may—

if the defendant admits part of the claim—give judgment for the plaintiff for the part of the claim the defendant admits; or

if the defendant does not admit any part of the claim—dismiss the proceeding.

If the plaintiff appears at the hearing but the defendant does not, the court may give the judgment or make the order the court considers just without requiring the plaintiff to give any evidence of the plaintiff’s claim, unless it considers the giving of evidence desirable.

For this rule, a party is taken to have appeared at the hearing if the party—

files in the court before the date of the hearing an affidavit of the facts in issue with a copy of the documents the party considers relevant to the facts in issue as exhibits to the affidavit; and

sends to the other party a copy of the affidavit.

If the court is satisfied, on application made to it within a reasonable time after a judgment given in the absence of a party came to the notice of the absent party, there was sufficient reason for the party’s absence, the court may set aside the judgment and its enforcement.

The court must rehear a proceeding set aside under subrule (5) then or at a later time set by the court.

At any time during the hearing, the court may give the directions for the conduct of the proceeding it considers appropriate and necessary to enable justice to be done between the parties.