Enforcing a Judgment in Western Australia
When a court has entered a civil judgment against a party and the party fails to pay the debt, the other party may want to start enforcement proceedings. This article explains the procedures for enforcing a judgment in Western Australia.
Limitation period
A person must make an application for an enforcement order within 12 years of the date when judgment was given. If more than six years have passed since the judgment, you will need to obtain the leave of the court to apply for certain enforcement processes.
To take enforcement action, you will need to lodge the correct form (available from the Magistrates Court of WA) and pay the application fee at the court where the judgment was made. If the judgment was given in another state or territory and the judgment debtor lives or has a business in Western Australia it can be registered for enforcement here.
The laws that deal with enforcing a judgment in Western Australia are contained in the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004 and the Civil Judgments Enforcement Regulations 2004.
Means inquiry
A judgment debtor is required to complete a Statement of Financial Affairs and bring it to court. At court, they will be required to answer questions under oath from the judgment creditor about their income, expenses, assets and debts and the financial situation of their partner and/or dependants. This information helps the judgment creditor to know which enforcement option is more suitable to obtain the money they are owed.
The judgment creditor will need to decide if they want the judgment debtor to bring any financial or personal records to court and whether to summons other parties to court to give or bring evidence about the judgment debtor’s financial situation.
If the court location is inconvenient, either party can ask for the means inquiry to be moved to another court. The court will listen to both parties and then decide which venue is fairest. If the judgment creditor, or their lawyer, don’t attend the means inquiry hearing, the court may order that the judgment creditor pay the judgment debtor’s costs.
Orders that can be made at a means inquiry
If the judgment debtor doesn’t attend the means inquiry, they could be found in contempt of court and fined or imprisoned.
If the court decides that a judgment debtor is unable to attend the means inquiry through illness or for other good reason, the judgment debtor may be ordered to complete and lodge the Statement of Financial Affairs in the form of an affidavit. The court may make an order for costs in the judgment creditor’s favour.
The court may decide the judgment debtor is unable to pay the debt at all and make no order.
If the court believes the judgment debtor can pay the debt it could order either that the debt be paid by a certain date or by regular instalments.
If a previous instalment order has been disobeyed and has been cancelled, the court may order that the judgment debtor’s employer pay part of their wages to you (an earnings appropriation order).
Property (seizure and sale) order
A property (seizure and sale) order allows the Sheriff or Bailiff, to seize and sell the judgment debtor’s personal property or real estate to pay the money owed to you. This includes the judgment debt, interest, and enforcement costs. It is up to you to find out whether the judgment debtor has any goods or property that can be seized and sold. You will need to advise where the personal property is located and the details of any real estate, such as certificate of title information. Personal property has to be sold before the bailiff can seize and sell any real estate.
There is certain property that cannot be seized by the bailiff. After the sale, the bailiff will first pay any costs, for things such as storage and removal of goods and auction fees. The balance of the money is then given to you to cover the outstanding debt. If there is still an amount owing, you can take further action to get the judgment debtor to pay it.
Stopping the seizure and/or sale of property
The judgment debtor can pay the debt, interest and enforcement costs or negotiate with you to arrange payment of the debt. In some circumstances they could apply to the court to put the property (seizure and sale) order on hold. This is called a suspension order. If the judgment defendant disputes the debt is owed, they may be able to apply to set aside the default judgment. Until the court makes an order to suspend enforcement, or sets aside the judgment, the Sheriff or bailiff must continue the enforcement process.
If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Go To Court Lawyers.
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