Federal Court of Australia

Form 55B: Application for extension of time to file and serve notice of appeal from a Tribunal
Version: 2
Rule: Order 53, rule 7
Filing fee: nil

Guide to Form 55B

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 55B?

Form 55B must be used if you are seeking an extension of time to file and serve an appeal against:
· a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal under section 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975;
· a decision of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal under section 46 of the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993.
· a decision of the Australian Competition Tribunal under section 44ZR of the Trade Practices Act 1974;
· a decision of the Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal under section 79 of the Complaints (Australian Federal Police) Act 1981.

How do you apply for an extension of time?

An application for an extension of time from a decision of a Tribunal must be made to the Court in the following way:

1. Get a Form 55B and fill it out. This is the application for an extension of time to file and serve a notice of appeal from a decision of a tribunal. You can get a copy of Form 55B from the Registry or download a copy from the Court’s website.

2. Get a Form 20 and fill it out. This is the affidavit. An affidavit is a written statement, affirmed or sworn before a solicitor or Justice of the Peace. The affidavit must outline:
· the nature of the case
· the issues involved
· the reasons why an extension of time should be granted
· the reasons for the delay.
Usually, a copy of the proposed Form 55A: Notice of Appeal is also attached to the affidavit so the Court can see what your grounds of appeal would be if an extension of time was granted.

A guide to making affidavits is available from the Registry or you can download a copy from the Court’s website.

3. The original application for an extension of time and affidavit, plus a copy of each document for each other party and the relevant Tribunal, must be delivered to the Federal Court. You can do this by bringing the documents to the Registry, or by posting or faxing them, or by sending them by the internet. This is called filing. More information about filing is available from the Registry and on the Court’s website.

Make sure you have a copy of the documents for yourself.

4. If the documents are in the correct form Registry staff will stamp the original and the copies of the application the affidavit. The Registry will also write on the application the time and date when the matter will be first considered by the Court.

5. You must arrange for a stamped copy of the application to be served on each other party and the Registrar of the relevant Tribunal at least five days before the date of the hearing of the application.

How to fill in your Application for an Extension of Time

Please read all of these notes before you begin completing the Application for Extension of Time.

These instructions assume that you are not represented by a lawyer.

Heading

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

Paragraph number 1

In the spaces provided, insert:
· the name of the Tribunal that made the decision
· the name of the members of the Tribunal who made the decision you want to appeal
· the date of the decision
· the city where the decision was made
· the actual decision or determination that was made by the Tribunal.

Paragraph number 2

If you are appealing from a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal write:

An extension of time is required because a notice of appeal was not *filed and *served within the time specified in section 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. Section 44(2A) provides that the Federal Court of Australia may allow an extension of time for the filing an service of a notice of appeal.”

*delete words preceded with a star if not applicable.

If you are appealing from a decision of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal write:

An extension of time is required because a notice of appeal was not *filed and *served within the time specified in section 46 of the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993. Section 46(2) provides that the Federal Court of Australia may allow an extension of time for the filing an service of a notice of appeal.”

*delete words preceded with a star if not applicable.

If you are appealing from a decision of the Australian Competition Tribunal write:

An extension of time is required because a notice of appeal was not *filed and *served within the time specified in section 44ZR of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Section 44ZR(2)(a) provides that the Federal Court of Australia may allow an extension of time for the filing an service of a notice of appeal.”

*delete words preceded with a star if not applicable.

If you are appealing from a decision of the Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal write:

An extension of time is required because a notice of appeal was not *filed and *served within the time specified in section 79(2) of the Complaints (Australian federal Police) Act 1981. Section 79(2)(a) provides that the Federal Court of Australia may allow an extension of time for the filing an service of a notice of appeal.”

*delete words preceded with a star if not applicable.

Paragraph number 3

This paragraph refers to the affidavit. You do not need to add anything here.

Date and signature

The application must be signed and dated.

Paragraph after the words “Time and date for hearing”

The paragraph after the words “Time and date for hearing” is completed by the Registry staff when you file the application. It gives the date, time and location of the hearing.

Filing details

Under the horizontal line on the first page of the application, 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.

(January 2005; updated June 2009)