1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004.
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Bill homepageThis Act may be cited as the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004.
This Act comes into operation on a day fixed by proclamation.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
assistant bailiff means a person who holds an appointment under section 108 as an assistant bailiff;
available debt has the meaning given by section 46;
bailiff means a person who holds an appointment under section 107 as a bailiff;
corporation has the meaning given by section 57A of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth;
court has a meaning affected by sections 5 and 9;
debt appropriation order means an order made under section 49(2);
default inquiry means an inquiry held under Part 4 Division 8;
deputy sheriff means a deputy appointed by the sheriff under the Supreme Court Act 1935 section 158;
dwelling means —
a building, structure or tent, or a part of a building structure or tent, that is ordinarily used for human habitation; or
a mobile home,
and it does not matter that it is uninhabited from time to time;
earnings has the meaning given by section 4;
earnings appropriation order means an order made under section 35(2);
enforcement costs, of a judgment, means —
any fees, expenses, or other amounts, that are paid, ordered to be paid, or payable, under this Act or another written law in connection with enforcing the judgment; and
any costs of taking, or in relation to, any proceedings under this Act to enforce the judgment that are ordered by a court to be paid by the person against whom the judgment is given;
enforcement officer means the sheriff, a deputy sheriff, a bailiff, an assistant bailiff, or a person appointed under section 112;
instalment order means an order made under section 33(2);
interpleader proceedings means proceedings held under Part 4 Division 4;
judgment means —
a monetary judgment; or
a judgment or an order of a court that requires or has the effect of requiring a person —
to give possession of any property to another person; or
to do an act, to not do an act, or to cease doing an act;
judgment creditor means a person who is entitled to the benefit of a monetary judgment, including a person to whom the benefit of a monetary judgment has passed (by assignment or any other way);
judgment debt means the unpaid amount of any of the following —
a judgment sum;
interest on the judgment sum;
enforcement costs of the judgment;
judgment debtor means any person against whom a monetary judgment has been given or may be enforced;
judgment sum means the amount of money ordered to be paid under a monetary judgment, whether or not the money is or includes costs or pre‑judgment interest;
means inquiry means an inquiry held under Part 4 Division 2;
mobile home means a vehicle —
that is ordinarily used for human habitation; and
that is permanently or semi‑permanently stationary in a single location;
monetary judgment means a judgment or an order of a court that requires or has the effect of requiring a person to pay money, whether or not the judgment or order contains any other requirements;
officer, of a corporation, has the meaning given by section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth;
partnership means a partnership within the meaning of the Partnership Act 1895 or an unincorporated company or association formed for the purposes of gain;
personal property does not include any estate or interest in land;
place means any land, building, structure, tent or vehicle, or any part of any land, building, structure, tent or vehicle;
property (seizure and delivery) order means an order made under section 95(2);
property (seizure and sale) order means an order made under section 59(2);
real property includes a leasehold and any other estate or interest in land;
record means any thing or process —
upon or by which information is recorded or stored; or
by means of which a meaning can be conveyed by any means in a visible or recoverable form,
whether or not the use or assistance of some electronic, electrical, mechanical, chemical or other device or process is required to recover or convey the information or meaning;
saleable interest, in real or personal property, has the meaning given by section 74(1) or 80(1), as the case requires;
sheriff means the sheriff referred to in the Supreme Court Act 1935 section 156;
suspension order means an order made under section 15(3);
time for payment order means an order made under section 32(2);
vehicle means any thing capable of transporting people or things by road, rail or water, including a hovercraft, and it does not matter how the thing is moved or propelled.
In this Act earnings, of a natural person, means money that is or will be payable to the person for or in relation to services provided by the person by way of —
wages, salary, commissions, fees, bonuses, overtime pay, leave loadings, payments in lieu of leave, or otherwise;
an annuity or pension for or in relation to past services, whether or not the services were provided to the person paying the annuity;
periodical payments of compensation for —
the loss, abolition or relinquishment of, or any reduction in the remuneration of, any office or employment; or
the loss of the money referred to in paragraph (a) because of illness or injury, whether at work or not,
but does not include the following —
money payable to the person under a child maintenance order made under the Family Court Act 1997;
money payable to the person under a child maintenance order made under the Family Law Act 1975 of the Commonwealth;
money payable to the person under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 of the Commonwealth;
money payable to the person under the Child Support Assessment Act 1988 of the Commonwealth 1;
a pension, benefit or allowance payable to the person under —
the Social Security Act 1991 of the Commonwealth; or
the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 of the Commonwealth;
money payable to the person that is prescribed not to be earnings for the purposes of this Act.
This Act applies to and in respect of any judgment given by any of the following courts in the exercise of its civil jurisdiction —
the Supreme Court;
the District Court;
the Magistrates Court.
The Courts and Tribunals (Electronic Processes Facilitation) Act 2013 Part 2 applies to this Act.
[Section 6A inserted: No. 20 of 2013 s. 35.]
This Act binds the Crown.
The writs, warrants and orders that, immediately before the commencement of this Act, could be issued or made at common law or in equity or under a written law —
to enforce or execute a judgment of a court; or
in aid of a writ, warrant or order to enforce or execute a judgment of a court,
are abolished.
The rules at common law or in equity applicable to or in relation to a writ, warrant or order that is abolished by subsection (1) and that is substantially similar to an order that may be made under this Act, apply to or in relation to the order that may be made under this Act so far as they are consistent with this Act.
Interest is to be paid on the unpaid amount of a judgment sum from the date of the judgment until the date on which the judgment sum is paid —
at the rate prescribed by the regulations; or
at the rate set by the court in the judgment or by an order made after the judgment is given.
Subsection (1) applies whether or not —
a suspension order has been made; or
a time for payment order or an instalment order has been made,
unless the court that made such an order orders otherwise.
The judgment creditor may waive the payment of the whole or a part of the interest referred to in subsection (1).
A judgment creditor who waives interest under subsection (3) must advise the court of the fact when applying for an enforcement order under Part 4.
Subsection (1) does not apply to —
a judgment that is registered under section 105(1) of the Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 of the Commonwealth; or
a judgment sum on which interest is payable under another written law.
An application or request that may be made under this Act to a court in relation to a judgment must be made —
to the court that gave the judgment; and
at the registry of that court where the documents relating to the action or matter in which the judgment was given are being held, unless the court gives permission for the application or request to be made at another registry.
An application or request that may be made under this Act must be made in accordance with the regulations.
Rules of court made by a court referred to in section 5 may prescribe applications and requests that, when made to the court under this Act, may be dealt with by an officer of that court, other than an officer who may constitute the court, who is prescribed by the rules for that purpose.
A person who is dissatisfied by a decision of an officer of a court, who is prescribed under subsection (3), made on an application or request dealt with by the officer may apply to the court for a review of the decision.
The application under subsection (4) must be made —
in accordance with rules of court made by the court; and
within 21 days after the date of the officer’s decision.
The court may extend the 21 day period and may do so even if it has expired.
The review is to be by way of a new hearing of the issue that was before the officer.
On the review the court may confirm the officer’s decision or set it aside and make any decision that the officer could have made, and may do so on terms as to costs or otherwise.
The court in which proceedings under this Act are taken in relation to a judgment may make any order as to and incidental to the costs of taking, or the costs in relation to, the proceedings that it could make as to and incidental to costs in civil proceedings before the court.
A judgment has effect —
at the time it is given; or
if it provides, or the court giving it orders, that it has effect from an earlier or later time, at that time.
Subject to sections 12 and 13, an application for an order under this Act to enforce a judgment may be made at any time after it has effect.
The commencement of an appeal against a judgment does not affect subsection (1).
This section does not limit the operation of Division 3.
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