Magistrates' Court General Civil Procedure Rules 2020

If personal service of a document is not required, the document may be served—

by leaving the document at the address for service of the person to be served; or

by posting the document to the person to be served at that person's address for service; or

if provision is made by or under any Act for service of a document on a corporation, by serving the document in accordance with that provision; or

if the Australian lawyer for a party has facilities for the reception of documents in a document exchange, by delivering the document into those facilities; or

if the Australian lawyer for a party has a facility for the reception of documents by facsimile transmission, by transmitting the document to that facility; or

by emailing the document to the person's email address.

For the purpose of paragraph (1), the proper address of a person is the address for service of that person in the proceeding, but if at the time service is to be effected that person has no address for service, the proper address is—

in the case of an individual, the individual's usual or last known place of residence or of business;

in the case of individuals suing or being sued in the name of a firm, the principal or last known place of business of the firm;

in the case of a corporation, the registered or principal office of the corporation.

If no person can be found at the address for service of a plaintiff who sues or a defendant who has appeared in person, any document in the proceeding may be served on that plaintiff or defendant by filing it.

Service in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) or (1)(e) which is effected after 4.00 p.m. is, for the purpose of calculating any period of time after that service, to be taken to have been effected on the next day the registrar's office is open.

The day of service of a document must, if the document—

is sent by post in accordance with paragraph (1)(b)—be taken to be the day it would be delivered in the normal course of post;

is delivered into the facilities of a document exchange in accordance with paragraph (1)(d)—be taken to be the day following the day upon which it is so delivered or, where a document is delivered on a Friday, be taken to be the following Monday—

In this Rule, document exchange means any document exchange for the time being approved by the Chief Justice on the recommendation of the Council of the Law Institute of Victoria.