Your hearing is tomorrow and you do not have a lawyer.
You can still do useful things tonight. Work down this page in order. It takes about ten minutes to read and most of it you can do from your phone.
First, one question that changes everything
Are you appearing for yourself, or for a company? The answer decides whether you are allowed to speak at all, and people find this out at the worst possible moment.
For yourself, as a person
You have the right to appear and be heard. Nobody can stop you speaking about your own case.
Go straight to the timeline below.
For a company you run
A company is a separate legal person, and it is normally required to be represented by a lawyer. Being its sole director does not give you an automatic right to speak for it.
The court can give permission, often called leave, but it has to be asked for.
Ask for permission before you say anything else. See the last stage below.
In order, starting now
Find out exactly where you have to be
Check the document that told you about the hearing. You want the time, the court, the case number, and whether it is in person or online. Write all four somewhere you will not lose them.
If it is online, you need a joining link. Look through your email for anything the court has sent, and open the whole thread rather than the latest message. Court notices often go out early and the link sits at the top of a conversation that has since been replied to several times.
Every registry has a phone number and an email address, and both are on the court's website. Ring as soon as they open. Tell them you are a party, give the case number, and ask for the joining details. This is an ordinary request and they deal with it constantly.
Most Australian courts publish a daily list on their website the afternoon before. Finding your name on it confirms you have the right day, the right court and the right time.
Tell the other side what you are going to ask for
If the other side has a lawyer, email them. Say who you are, that you are not represented, and what you intend to ask the court for. If you want the hearing put off, ask whether they will consent.
They may say no. Ask anyway. Courts routinely ask a self-represented party whether they have spoken to the other side, and being able to say yes, and to show what you sent, is worth a great deal.
Do not offer to pay anything, and do not agree that a claim against you is correct, in order to get agreement. You are asking about the timing of a hearing, not settling the case.
Write to the court
Most courts and lists have an email address for exactly this, and many will have already emailed the parties asking what each side wants. If they have, reply to that email rather than starting a new one, and answer their questions in the order they asked them. Registry staff are matching your answer to a list. Make that easy and you are already ahead.
Never write to a court without copying the other side. If you are replying to an email they are already on, reply to all, and check before sending that they are still there.
Keep it short and factual. Who you are, the case number, that you are self-represented, what you are asking for, and the reasons in a numbered list. Do not argue the whole case. You are telling them what to expect.
Then find your documents. Anything written and dated before the trouble started is worth more than anything you say on the day. Reference numbers, reports you made, letters you sent, bank statements. Put them in one folder and have them open on screen.
Get in early and be reachable
- Join or arrive at least ten minutes early. Lists are called in an order you do not control and you may be first.
- If it is online, test that your microphone works before it starts.
- Have your phone on you and the registry's number in it, so a technical problem does not become a non-appearance.
- Have the email you sent last night open.
If everything has gone wrong and you are not ready, turn up anyway. Not appearing is the worst outcome available to you, because a court can deal with the matter in your absence. Turning up unprepared and saying so is recoverable.
Say who you are, then ask for what you want
Give your name and say you are not represented. If you are appearing for a company, this is the moment for permission, before anything about the case itself:
“My name is [name]. I am the sole director of the defendant company. The company has no lawyer. I ask for leave to appear on its behalf.”
Then ask for what you came for. If that is more time, say so plainly and give your reasons briefly. Not having been able to arrange a lawyer yet is a proper reason, not an embarrassment. Courts commonly allow more time on a first occasion when someone has only recently learned of the case and is making a genuine effort.
After that, the rules are simple:
- Answer the question you are asked, then stop talking.
- If you do not know, say you do not know.
- Do not interrupt, and do not argue with the other side's lawyer. Speak to the judge or registrar, not to them.
- Do not overstate your position. Saying you can pay when you cannot will cost you credibility on everything else you say.
- Do not accuse anyone of anything you cannot prove with a document.
A judge is “Your Honour”. A registrar is “Registrar”. Nobody minds if you get it slightly wrong, and nobody will pretend they did not hear you because of it.
One last thing
Almost everything that helps you tomorrow gets done tonight. The email to the court, the documents in one folder, knowing how to get in the room. By the time the matter is called, most of the work is either done or it is not.
This page is general information about how courts work. It is not legal advice about your case, because nobody here knows your case, and procedure differs between courts and between states. If you can get a lawyer, even for one appearance, get one.