Judicial review and civil enforcement - How to start proceedings

1. Check your information

Check that you are able to bring civil enforcement or judicial review proceedings and that you are commencing the proceedings within any specified time limit.

2. Complete the summons

There is a particular summons form for judicial review proceedings (Form 85 (version 3) (PDF , 41.3 KB)). The standard summons form is used for civil enforcement proceedings. It is in two versions: one summons for an applicant who is legally represented (Form 4A (version 4) (DOC , 77.0 KB)) and another summons for an applicant who is acting in person or by an authorised agent (Form 4B (version 4) (DOC , 72.5 KB)).

For judicial review proceedings, the summons should join as respondents the public authority (including a public official) responsible for the decision or conduct to be reviewed and any person interested in maintaining the decision to be reviewed, such as the person to whom some form of approval has been granted by the decision to be reviewed. The public authority is not to be named as the first respondent, unless there is no other respondent.

For judicial review proceedings, the summons is to state:
(a) the orders sought;
(b) if there is a decision in respect of which relief is sought:
(i) the identity of the decision-maker;
(ii) the terms of the decision to be reviewed;
(iii) whether the relief is sought in respect of the whole or part only of the decision and, if part only, which part; and
(c) with specificity, the grounds on which the relief is sought.

3. Check the fee

There is a court filing fee that has to be paid to the Court to commence Class 4 proceedings.  The amount of the filing fee depends on whether the applicant is a natural person or a corporation. The range of fees is specified in the Schedule of Court fees.

4. File the summons

Class 4 proceedings can be commenced by filing four copies of the completed summons and paying the Court’s filing fee at the Court’s registry on Level 4, 225 Macquarie Street, Sydney or by posting four copies of the completed application and payment of the filing fee to the court at GPO Box 3565, Sydney, NSW  2001. 

In addition, all Local Courts throughout New South Wales act as agents for the Land and Environment Court.  Applications can be filed and the filing fee paid at any Local Court registry.  The Local Court registry staff will give a receipt for the payment of the filing fee and will forward the papers to the Land and Environment Court for processing.

The Court will process the summons at the Court’s registry. The summons will be recorded in the Court’s record system and stamped as having been filed with the Court.  The date, time and place of the first directions hearing before the Court will be set and written by the Court’s staff on each of the copy of the summons.  The first directions hearing will usually be 5 weeks after the date of filing of the summons.

The Court’s registry will keep one copy of the summons for the Court’s file and return the other copies of the summons to the applicant.  One of the returned copies is for the applicant to keep and the other copies are to be served on each respondent to the proceedings.  In judicial review proceedings, the respondents will be the public authority (including a public officer) responsible for the decision or conduct to be reviewed and any person interested in maintaining the decision to be reviewed, such as the person to whom some form of approval has been granted by the decision to be reviewed.

5. Serve the summons

A stamped copy of the summons needs to be served on each respondent to the proceedings, within 7 days of filing. The Court has prepared a guide for the service of documents for self-represented litigants (PDF , 68.3 KB). The guide explains what is meant by service of documents and how this is to be undertaken.

6. Respondent files notice of appearance

After the applicant serves the summons, each respondent needs to acknowledge service and register its desire to take part in the proceedings. This is known as filing a notice of appearance (DOC , 50.0 KB). Each respondent needs to complete and file with the Court, and serve on the applicant, a notice of appearance.