If the payment of money, land or goods remains outstanding, the creditor is entitled to apply to the court to enforce the judgment or order against the debtor.
If you are unsure of the debtor's financial situation and which enforcement option to choose, you may submit an Application for an order for oral examination to the Court.
This application is made to the deputy registrar, requesting they direct the judgment debtor attend before the deputy registrar or the Court to provide answers to questions relating to their financial circumstances and their capacity to pay the outstanding debt.
The order may also direct the judgment debtor to produce documents, such as their bank statements or tax returns, to the Court to support their answers.
The outcome of the examination will assist in determining the best way for the debt to be enforced.
If you cannot afford to pay the amount you owe and agreement cannot be reached with the creditor, you may apply to the Court to pay the debt and interest by instalments.
To do this, Form 61A Application for payment of a judgment debt by instalments, statement of financial situation and affidavit of service must be provided before the Court and it should contain:
The registrar will set a date for the application to be heard. The parties do not need to attend. The registrar will review the papers submitted by the debtor and make a decision regarding the application. All parties will then be notified.
The registrar may grant the application or refuse the application.
Refusal of the application is usually due to:
Either party may lodge an objection to the registrar's decision within 14 days of receiving notification of the decision using Form 61F Notice of objection: Judgment Debt Recovery 1984. The objection application is heard by a judge or a judicial registrar.
There are three types of warrants that can be issued and forwarded to the sheriff for execution:
A creditor can apply for a Garnishee Order where the debtor is owed money (not wages) by another person (garnishee). It allows the debt owed to be paid directly to the creditor.
This is an application to the Court that orders the debtor's employer to deduct instalments from their salary.
This is an enforcement application by the creditor that secures the payment of a debt through securities held by the debtor. In this respect, securities mean:
Before issuing a Charging Summons a judgment creditor must make an application to the Court to issue, file and serve the summons.