Summons for oral examination

A summons for oral examination requires the debtor to attend court and give details about their financial circumstances, including, but not limited to their assets, income and debts.

Court can be a complex and costly process. You should seek legal advice before applying for a summons for oral examination. You may also wish to speak to the other party to try and resolve the dispute. The steps below provide general information about the application process. It does not cover all scenarios nor constitute legal advice. 

STEP 1: Complete the form 

Fill in a summons to attend for oral examination - Form 67A.  By completing this form, you are applying to the Magistrates’ Court to have a debtor summonsed to give details about their financial circumstances. 

STEP 2: File the form and pay the court fee

Make two copies of the completed summons to attend for oral examination form. One copy is for your records and the other copy is for service on the defendant.

File the original and two copies of the completed form with the Magistrates’ Court where the order was made.   

A filing fee is also payable upon lodgement. 

If documents are not completed correctly, they may be returned to you.

STEP 3: The court’s process

A registrar will review the summons and advise of the outcome via post. If granted, issued copies of the summons to attend for oral examination will be returned containing a hearing date and location.

The hearing will be held at the Magistrates’ Court closest to the debtor’s address. The location may be different to the venue where the judgement was made. 

STEP 4: Serve court documents

There are legal rules about the way in which you must give documents to the debtor. This is called service. Information about service can be found on the service of court documents page. 

To complete service, a copy of the summons to attend for oral examination must be served on the debtor at least seven days before the summons for oral examination hearing date. 

You are also required to serve an examination of a judgment debtor form. The form outlines the questions that will be asked in the oral examination.  

• Form 67B – examination of a judgement debtor – must be used if the examination is for an individual.   
• Form 67C – examination of a judgment debtor – must be used if the examination is for a corporation/company

The person who served the documents must complete an affidavit of service - Form 6A. This provides information about how the documents were served.

The affidavit must be witnessed and sworn or affirmed in the presence of an authorised person. You must file the affidavit to prove service. See the witnessing documents page for more information. 

If not served in time, return the affidavit of service and the hearing date can be extended to provide further time for service. The registrar will require you to show the attempts of service made if the summons is to be extended more than once.   

What happens next? 

The debtor must attend court on the date of the oral examination. You are not required to attend but can do so. A registrar will ask the debtor questions outlined in the examination of judgment debtor form. The debtor will need to answer under oath.

The Magistrates’ Court will send you a copy of the debtors answers in the oral examination. The answers may help you decide the most appropriate method of enforcement. 

If the debtor did not attend the oral examination, you will be notified and provided with further options.