Fees and costs for civil proceedings

Procedural steps within a common law or commercial case require parties to pay fees to the court. Parties that are legally represented will also have to pay costs and charges for professional services.

Forms and fees:

The contents of this page provides information on the types of fees that are payable to the court, and the costs that can be charged by a legal practitioner.

How are fees paid?

Fees can be paid by post or in person. The method of payment can be by cash, bank cheque, money order, solicitors cheque or electronically when filing a document via eFiling.

Court fees

The following table provides a list of all processes that require a fee and the amount of that fee. A list of processes and fees can be found in the County Court (Fees) Regulations 2018.

The fee amounts are effective from 1 July 2019.

Commencement fees

Item No.	Item description	Corporate	Standard	Concession
1	Writ, Originating Motion, Counterclaim (or defence and Counterclaim) Third/Fourth Party Notices	$1,451.40	$725.70	$256.20
2	Adoption and Substitute Parentage Order Applications	N/A	$493.20	$256.20
3	Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 Applications	N/A	$555.40	$256.20
4	Writ/Originating Motion in Commercial Division Expedited List	$2,902.80	$1,451.40	$256.20
5	Transfer into the Commercial Division Expedited List	$1,451.40	$725.70	$256.20
6	Transfer of a matter from the Magistrates' Court. The fee is reduced by the amount of the Filing fee paid to the Magistrates’ Court	$1,451.40	$725.70	$256.20

Case management fees (includes first hearing day on * items)

Item No.	Item description	Corporate	Standard	Concession
7*	Summons/Interlocutory applications	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20
8	Ex parte applications	$250.30	$124.40	$62.20
9	Mediation – JRC/JMC/JSC	$555.40	$277.00	$137.70

Other applications (includes first hearing day on * items)

Item No.	Item description	Corporate	Standard	Concession
10*	Appeal from or review of a Judicial Registrar decision	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20
11*	Summons for attachment of debt (Garnishee) (Order 71)	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20
12*	Summons for oral examination (Rule 61.04)	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20
13	Order for oral examination (Rule 67.02)	$111.10	$56.30	$28.10
14	Warrant of seizure and sale	$111.10	$56.30	$28.10
15	Warrant of possession of land	$111.10	$56.30	$28.10
16*	Filing for an attachment of earnings (Order 72)	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20
17	Creditor and debtor applications under the Judgment Debt Recovery Act (Order 61)	$72.60	$35.50	$17.80
18* and 19*	For each sitting of a judicial officer or court official Taking of Accounts/Assessment of Damages	$1,110.80	$555.40	$256.20

Hearing fees

Item No.	Item description	Corporate	Standard	Concession
20	Setting down for trial	$1,335.90	$668.00	$256.20
21	First Trial Day	$1,036.70	$518.40	$256.20
22	Trial Days 2, 3 and 4, fee per day	$1,481.00	$740.50	$256.20
23	Trial Days 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, fee per day	$2,369.60	$1,184.80	$256.20
24	Trial Day 10 and subsequent days, per day	$3,258.20	$1,629.10	$256.20
25	Other Hearing fee, other than trial days	$1,036.70	$518.40	$256.20

Administrative fees

Item No.	Item description	Corporate	Standard	Concession
26	Search for paper files	$72.60	$35.50	$17.80
27	Search for electronic files with copy	$14.80	$14.80	$14.80
28	Certificate of Registrar	$14.80	$14.80	$14.80
29	To register an interstate judgment	$45.90	$23.70	$14.80
30	Issuing a subpoena	$88.90	$44.40	$22.20
31	Photocopy or printing per page	60 cents	60 cents	60 cents

Jury trial hearing fees

The following table provides a list of the hearing fees specific to jury trials. The provisions for jury trial hearing fees are located in the Juries (Fees) Regulations 2012 SR 106/2012.

The fee amounts are effective from 1 July 2019.

Process description	Fee
First day jury fee before due date	$804.20
Jury fee – second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth – payable daily	$577.60
Jury fee – seventh day (and subsequent days) – payable daily	$1146.30

The Court's cost scale is 80% of the Supreme Court of Victoria's scale of costs

The definition of the Court's costs scale is defined under Rule 1.13 ‘Definitions’ of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018 S.R. No. 148/2008.

The County Court of Victoria's costs scale means – a fee, charge or amount that is 80 per cent of the applicable rate set out in Appendix A to Chapter I of the Rules of the Supreme Court; or in the case of a circuit fee, the amount set out in Schedule 1 of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018.

Costs on judgment in default of appearance or defence

To determine costs for a default judgment application the amount that can be claimed is 80 per cent of the applicable default judgment costs set out by the Supreme Court.

The documents that list and itemise the costs that can be claimed for a default judgment in the County Court, can be found on the Supreme Court website by searching costs on default judgments.

The following table sets out the current cost amounts that can be claimed for a default judgment in the Court.

Effective as of 14 December 2018.

Commercial Division

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division prior to 14 December 2018	$3,185.60	$3,185.60	$3,185.60
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division between 14 December 2018 and 30 June 2019	$3,736.10	$3,028.10	$2,570.00
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division on or after 1 July 2019	$3,771.40	$3,045.70	$2,576.20

Commercial Division Expedited List

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division Expedited List prior to 14 December 2018	$3,185.60	$3,185.60	$3,185.60
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division Expedited List between 14 December 2018 and 30 June 2019	$3,561.50	$2,940.75	$2,570.00
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Commercial Division Expedited List on or after 1 July 2019	$3,592.50	$2,956.30	$2,576.20

Common Law Division

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Common Law Division prior to 14 December 2018	$3,185.60	$3,185.60	$3,185.60
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Common Law Division between 14 December 2018 and 30 June 2019	$3,736.10	$3,028.10	$2,570.00
Where the proceeding was commenced in the Common Law Division on or after 1 July 2019	$3,771.40	$3,045.70	$2,576.45

Additional costs allowed, in addition to the above costs
(where applicable)

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
For each additional Defendant, add	$608.00	$608.00	$608.00
Where there has been an application for substituted service in the Commercial Division, Commercial Division Expedited List or Common Law Division and the fee was paid prior to 14 December 2018, add	$1,164.80	$1,164.80	$1,164.80
Where there has been an application for substituted service in the Commercial Division, Commercial Division Expedited List or Common Law Division and the fee was paid between 14 December 2018 to 30 June 2019, add	$1,260.60	$1,137.40	$1,076.70
Where there has been an application for substituted service in the Commercial Division, Commercial Division Expedited List or Common Law Division and the fee was paid on or after 1 July 2019, add	$1,266.30	$1,140.40	$1,078.20

Warrants of enforcement

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
County Court Costs for Warrant of Seizure and Sale or Warrant of Possession	$1,426.10	$1,371.30	$1,343.10

Penalty interest rates

The Penalty Interest Rates Act 1983 makes provision for rates of interest payable on unpaid monies arising from a judgment or order. The following attachment provides the current penalty interest rates with reference to previous rates and their commencement dates.

Penalty interest rates (docx, 57.25 KB)

Current rate	Effective date
10%	1 February 2017

Previous rates	Effective date
9.5%	1 June 2015
10.5%	11 August 2014
11.5%	3 February 2014
10%	7 October 2013

Warrants of execution

The total amount of costs that can be claimed on a warrant of execution is 80 per cent of the applicable costs of each claimable item found within the Supreme Court (Chapter I Appendices A and B Amendment) Rules 2017. The following table provides the current total cost amount that can be claimed for a warrant of execution in the County Court of Victoria;

	Corporate	Standard	Concession
County Court costs for Warrant of Seizure and Sale or Warrant of Possession	$1,426.10	$1,371.30	$1,343.10

Sheriff’s charges for enforcement of order

Section 11 of the Sheriff Regulations 2009 provides for fees to execute or attempt to execute warrants.

All fees in the following schedule are payable by cheque to the Sheriff’s Office, and are effective from 1 July 2018.

Process description	Fee
Warrant execution	$198.10
Warrant for possession	$207.40
Combined warrant	$253.30

Jurisdictional limits

Jurisdiction	Limit
Magistrates' Court of Victoria	$100,000 (for matters issued from 1 January 2005)
County Court of Victoria	Unlimited (for matters issued from 1 January 2007)
Supreme Court of Victoria	Unlimited

Current fee schedule

Schedule of Fees – 1 July 2019 (docx, 62.39 KB)

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Page last updated: 13 September 2019

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The County Court of Victoria
250 William St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 8636 6510

The County Court acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.