Small claims

Introduction

You can make a small claim through the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) if:

  • you are owed up to $25,000
  • or have a claim against someone for goods and services up to $25,000 in value.

Examples of small claims are any of the following:

  • work has not been completed by a tradesperson
  • you are owed money for goods or services
  • you have been sold faulty goods or services performed poorly
  • there is a dispute between a homeowner, tenants or body corporates.

Before you make a small claim

You can:

When you can lodge a small claim

Claims must be made within three years of the date the money was owed or the work due.

If the person who owes money confirms the debt in writing during the three years, the three year deadline restarts from that date.

Read more about commencing a small claim with NTCAT as well as filing a response to a claim.


Who can make a small claim

You can make a claim if you are either:

  • a company or business
  • over 18 years of age and capable of managing your own affairs.

When you need a litigation guardian

You must have a litigation guardian if any of the following apply:

  • you are under 18 years old
  • you are incapable of managing your own affairs.

The court will appoint a litigation guardian if you become incapable of managing your own affairs during the claim.

Being a litigation guardian

You can be a litigation guardian of another person with a disability if you:

  • don’t have a disability
  • have no interest in the claim.

You must file written consent to be a litigation guardian, unless you have been appointed by a court.

A litigation guardian is liable for costs as if they were the plaintiff or the defendant in the proceeding.


How to make a small claim

This page has information for people who want to make a small claim.

If you are making a small claim for up to $25,000 you can apply to have your matter heard through the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

If your matter involves claims between $25,001 and $250,000 you can apply to have it heard in the Local Court.

Or if you claim is above $250,000 it will be heard by the Supreme Court.

If you are owed money

Contact the person or company you are claiming against. They are also known as the defendant or debtor.

You should send a final reminder letter before taking legal action. This is called a letter of demand.

Your letter should state all of the following:

  • how much is owed
  • what it is for
  • when it should be paid - a reasonable period of time to be paid is within 28 days
  • if it isn’t paid by the due date you will take court action.

If you are claiming for poor goods or services

You should write a letter of demand if you are claiming for any of the following:

  • poor or incorrect services
  • faulty goods
  • dispute with a body corporate.

Your letter should state all of the following:

  • what the problem is
  • what you expect them to do to fix the problem
  • why you think they are responsible - eg: if there is a written or spoken contract between you
  • they have 14 days to pay or fix the problem or you will start court action.

Submit a statement of claim form.

You need to complete different forms depending on what the claim is for:

Debt or damages PDF (247.7 KB)
Debt or damages DOCX (27.7 KB)
Motor vehicle PDF (200.8 KB)
Motor vehicle DOCX (26.7 KB)
Goods returned or replaced PDF (152.7 KB)
Goods returned or replaced DOCX (27.1 KB)

You must include your address and the address of the defendant.

If you don’t have the proper name or registered address of a business or company you can find it on the Australian Securities Investment Commission website.

You should then:

  • submit your claim form to the Local Court in person or by mail
  • pay the small claims fee – you can pay by cash, credit card, money order or cheque.

Give documents to the other person or organisation. This is known as serving documents on the defendant.

Documents you must serve

You must serve both:

How to serve the documents

The documents must be given to the defendant in person if they are either:

  • an individual
  • or a person trading as a business.

You can either:

  • give the documents yourself
  • arrange for someone else to do it on your behalf - eg: a bailiff or a friend.

If you are unsuccessful in serving the documents, you should contact the court for advice.

If the defendant is a company, they can be served by registered post to the registered office.

After you serve documents

Tell the court you have served the documents and the defendant has been given details about the claim.

You have 28 days from the date you served the documents to the defendant to:

1. Complete a declaration of service form - you can find this on the back of the statement of claim form.
2. Submit it to the court.

If a bailiff serves the documents, they must complete and submit the declaration of service form.

What the defendant can do

The defendant can do one of the following:

  • offer to pay the claim
  • admit or offer to pay part of the claim
  • decide to defend the claim

If the defendant decides to defend the claim, a pre-hearing conference will be organised. They can agree to settle the claim at this conference.

If you don't hear back from the defendant

If you don’t hear back from the defendant within 28 days, you can ask the court to decide what should happen without a court hearing.

This is called a default judgment.

You must complete the application for default judgment PDF (70.5 KB).


If you receive a small claim

This page has information for people who receive a small claim.

You have 28 days to decide what to do if a person, also called a creditor or plaintiff, makes a small claim against you.

You can do one of the following:

  • offer to pay the claim
  • admit or offer to pay part of the claim
  • decide to defend the claim
  • agree to settle the claim – this is usually done at the pre-hearing conference organised by the court.

You can find the documents you need on the statement on claim.

If you don’t file any of these documents within 28 days, the plaintiff can ask the court to decide what should happen to the claim without going to court, called a default judgment.

You may choose to get advice from Consumer Affairs, or get legal advice.

If you decide to pay the whole claim

This is called settling the claim, and ends the court proceedings.

You can either:

  • pay the full amount
  • ask to pay the full amount over a longer period of time - the plaintiff will decide whether to agree to this
  • or ask to pay the claim in instalments - the plaintiff will decide whether to agree to this.

If you offer to pay the amount over a longer period of time, or pay instalments you can withdraw your offer at any time before the plaintiff accepts it.

To pay, you must:

  • pay the plaintiff directly.
  • or complete the order to pay form and give it to the court - the court can take instalments on behalf of the plaintiff.

If you pay the plaintiff directly, you must get a signed receipt from them and give it to the court. If you don’t do this, the claim will remain open.

If you have agreed to pay the claim in instalments you must get a signed receipt from the plaintiff after every payment, and give it to the court.

If you miss a payment the plaintiff can ask you to pay the remaining amount immediately.

If you decide to pay part of the claim

If you think you should only pay part of the claim, you must:

  1. Complete a notice of admission form
  2. which is on the back of the notice of defence
  3. Give it to the court, either in person or by mail.

If you don’t agree with the claim

If you don’t agree with the claim you must:

You will be asked to attend a meeting with the plaintiff and a court registrar to discuss the claim, called a pre-hearing conference.


When the claim goes to court

This page has information for both plaintiffs and defendants going to court over a small claim.

You can settle the claim at any time before going to court, but you must let the court know.

Before the court hearing 

Both plaintiffs and defendants will first be asked to a meeting at the court.

This meeting, called a conference, will be run by a court officer and gives you the chance to come to an agreement before the claim goes before a judicial registrar or judge.

Court hearing: where and when

If you can’t reach an agreement, you will be told a date where the plaintiff will be given the chance to present their case in court. This is called a court hearing.

By law, you must attend the court hearing, unless you have been told otherwise.

The hearing will be held at the court where the plaintiff filed the claim.

If you are the defendant and you want the hearing to be held in a different court, you will need to make an application to the court for a transfer.

Preparing for court

The court cannot help you present your case as they are not allowed to take sides. 

By law, you don't need a lawyer, but you can hire a lawyer to represent you. This will be at your expense.

You can also have a support person but they are not allowed to speak for you.  

You need to take to court all the documents that support your side of the claim, whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant.

These can include any or all of the following:

  • contracts
  • receipts
  • bills
  • sale receipts
  • photographs
  • quotes.

You should always try to bring original document rather than photocopies.

Find out more information about courtroom rules.

Read more information about representing yourself in court.

Witnesses

You should ask witnesses to help support your case.

Witnesses can go to court with you, or write down their evidence in a statutory declaration, which is a legal document that declares something to be true.

A copy of their statutory declaration should be given to the other party, and your witness should hand the original to the judge at the hearing.

Your witness should attend court with you, and may be asked questions by the defendant and the judicial registrar or judge.

If your witness can’t attend court, the judicial registrar or judge won't be able to question them, and can only read their statutory declaration.

Find out more information about going to court as a witness.

Presenting your case: plaintiff

You will begin by telling the court why you believe the defendant owes you money. You must prove your case by presenting witnesses and your documents. The defendant may ask your witnesses questions.

Defending your case: defendant

As the defendant, you have the right of reply and will then tell the court why you believe you don’t owe any money, or why the work performed was satisfactory. The plaintiff may ask your witnesses questions.

The court’s decision

After hearing from both the plaintiff and defendant, the judicial registrar or judge will make a decision, called judgment, based on the facts.

Find out how to get money you are owed.