Federal Court of Australia

Form 7: Statement of claim (Modified to include heading, signature block and filing party's details as required by Order 41 of the Federal Court Rules)
Version: 1
Rule: Order 4 rule 6, Order 11
Filing fee: There is no filing fee for a Statement of Claim. However, if the Statement of Claim is filed with an application then the filing fee for the application must be paid. You can apply to have this fee waived if payment would cause you financial hardship.

Guide to Form 7

Please read this guide and the form carefully. As the applicant you are responsible for making sure all your paperwork is in order. Although the Court’s Registry staff can check your forms and other court papers for completeness (for example, they check for signatures, and that attachments are present and signed by an authorised person within your State or Territory) and give you information about the Court’s procedures, they can not give you legal advice and they are not responsible for the accuracy of your documents.

When should you use Form 7?

Most applications are commenced by filing a Form 5 together with a Form 20. In some circumstances it may be more appropriate that a Form 7 be filed with the Form 5.

The Court may also order that a Statement of Claim be filed.

A Statement of Claim is a written statement by the applicant setting out the facts which are to be relied upon to support the claim against the respondent, as well as the type of orders which the applicant wants the Court to make. The purpose of a Statement of Claim is to clearly state the case that is alleged by the applicant against the respondent. A Statement of Claim must contain a summary of the relevant facts on which the applicant relies for their claim, but not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved.

Drafting a Statement of Claim can be very difficult. It is therefore recommended that a Statement of Claim be prepared with legal assistance.

You can get contact details of organisations which may be able to provide free or low-cost legal advice or assistance from the Registry or the Court’s website.

How to fill in your Statement of Claim

Please read all of these notes before you begin completing the Statement of Claim form. The Statement of Claim must be made using Form 7.

These instructions assume that you are the applicant in the proceeding, that you are not represented by a lawyer and that the applicant in the proceeding is a natural person, not a company or other corporate entity.

Heading

The applicant is the person who starts the proceeding by filing an application. The respondent is the person who opposes or agrees to the orders which the applicant wants the Court to make. There can be more than one applicant or respondent.

In the spaces provided insert:
· your full name
· the full name of the respondent.

These should be the same names as those used in the Form 5 application form.

Main part (‘body’)of the Statement of Claim

Under the Federal Court Rules, the Statement of Claim must:
· be divided into numbered paragraphs, with each paragraph dealing with a separate matter or fact; and
· only contain a summary of the material facts on which you rely for their claim, but not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved.

Further information about a certain matter may be set out in "Particulars" which can be included as part of the paragraph dealing with the matter.

For example:

1. The Respondent has engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).

PARTICULARS OF MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE CONDUCT

(i) An advertisement was placed in the Perth Times on 1
January 2004 which contained the statement that the
Respondent’s product cures all cancers.
(ii) An advertisement was aired on Channel 6 in Perth between 2
January 2004 and 10 January 2004 which contained the
statement that the Respondent’s product cures all cancers.

Statement by person who prepared the Statement of Claim

In the space provided write the name of the person who prepared the Statement of Claim.

Date and signature

The Statement of Claim must be signed and dated.

Filing details

Under the horizontal line on the first page of the Statement of Claim, write:
· your name
· your address for service, telephone number and facsimile number (if any).

Note: your address for service is an address to which the Court or the respondent can deliver or send letters or documents to you. The address must be in Australia. The address must be a street address and cannot be a Post Office Box.