[Form 17] Statement of Claim for the Federal Court of Australia

What is a Statement of Claim? (Part of the Pleadings)

A Statement of Claim is a statement containing your "pleadings" filed in civil court proceedings by an Applicant.

It sets forth what your Claim is about and why you are entitled to relief from the Court.

The "Pleadings" constitute the sum total of all of the documents containing the claims made by all parties to the proceedings including the Originating Application, Statement of Claim, the Defence and Cross-Claim, the Reply or Answer, and any Requests for and Responses to Further and Better Particulars.

Document Overview:

✅ Suitable for the Federal Court of Australia made under the Federal Court Rules 2011;

✅ Recommended only for use by legal professionals +/or at a minimum with review by a legal professional prior to filing with the Court;

✅ For use in the General or Fair Work Divisions of the Federal Court of Australia.

Embedded Lawyer-Logic™ dynamically adapts to your answers to provide valuable guidance and help you avoid errors.

Legal Advice Recommended

The type of claim you are filing with the Federal Court of Australia will determine whether a specific Federal Court of Australia Practice Note will apply, and the details of your dispute will assist to determine whether a Statement of Claim is to be filed initially, and whether or not this Statement of Claim [Form 17] is the correct form to use.

For example, in Admiralty Claims the rules require the use of a different prescribed Statement of Claim [Form 8] for an "action in rem" and a prescribed Statement of Claim [Form 7] for a "limitation of liability" proceeding.

In short, due to the complexities involved in both determining which forms to use, together with the crucial importance of getting the pleadings right to the success of your claim (see the discussion below on Pleadings without Tears):

➲ We recommend you contact our legal team to obtain legal advice and guidance regarding which:

⚖️ Federal Court of Australia Practice Note (if any) applies; and accordingly which

⚖️ Documents MUST or may be filed in support of your Originating Application; and further which

⚖️ Originating Application to use, a [Form 15] or a different prescribed Originating Application form required due to the type of claim being made;

⚖️ Determining whether an Applicant's Genuine Steps Statement [Form 16] is also required to be filed pursuant to the Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth.); as well as

✅ To ensure you have the best chance of getting your "all-important" pleadings right.

Alternatively, your matter may be one where your interests are best served by first filing:

⚖️ An Urgent Application before Start of a Proceeding [Form 12];

⚖️ An Application by Parent or Guardian to Settle + Enforce a Claim under an Agreement made by, for or against a Person under a Legal Incapacity [Form 13]; or

⚖️ An Originating Application (by Prospective Applicant) for an Order for Discovery [Form 14].

When do you need to file a Statement of Claim?

This process automates the creation of a Statement of Claim [Form 17] which MUST accompany an Originating Application [Form 15] to commence litigation in the Federal Court of Australia UNLESS a Practice Note issued by the Chief Justice (see example below) requires:

The Originating Application [Form 15] to be accompanied by:

⚖️ An Alternative Accompanying Document; or

⚖️ Provides you with a choice between an Alternative Accompanying Document such as a Concise Statement (generally required for the majority of matters) OR a Statement of Claim [Form 17] (when matters are likely to be simple, have narrow grounds of dispute, may be in the lower range of quantum claims, and will benefit from a "one-step" pleadings process).

Note: Even when a Concise Statement is filed initially, the Court may require a Statement of Claim to be filed at a later stage in the proceedings.

Sample Practice Note

Extracts from the following Commercial and Corporations Practice Note (C&C-1) are provided below to illustrate how different categories of claims may have different rules regarding whether or not a Statement of Claim needs to or can be filed together with the Originating Application or at a later stage of the proceedings.

Extracted from the Commercial and Corporations Practice Note (C&C-1)

Date reissued: 5 July 2022

National Practice Area Practice Note

5.3

Material supporting the Originating Application [Form 15] may take one (or more) of the following forms:

(a) a document entitled "Concise Statement"; or
(b) a Statement of Claim or Affidavit.

Pleading or Affidavit Method (One-Step Pleadings Process) ➲ Minority of Cases

5.10

Alternatively, a party may file a Statement of Claim or Affidavit in Support of an Originating Application [Form 15] (see r 8.05 of the Federal Court Rules) or an Affidavit in Support of an originating process for corporations matters (see r 2.4 of the Corporations Rules).

5.11

Where an Affidavit is filed, it will be treated as a statement of the Applicant's substantive factual case in the proceeding.

5.12

The Statement of Claim or Affidavit should have four key components to clearly explain the Applicant's case, namely:

(a) the material facts giving rise to the claim;
(b) the relief sought by the applicant (and against whom);
(c) the legal grounds for the relief sought; and
(d) the alleged harm suffered by the applicant, including - wherever possible - a conservative and realistic estimate or range of loss and damage.

5.13

In the supporting material (whether Statement of Claim or Affidavit), the Applicant should:

(a) avoid prolixity and a Statement of Claim should, wherever possible, be kept to no more than 15 pages;
(b) not engage in unnecessary repetition or exhaustively list peripheral alternative claims;
(c) where stating facts, concisely state only the material facts – that is, only the facts important to proving the claim; and
(d) where identifying legal grounds, concisely identify only the legal grounds that are realistically provable and relevant to the applicant proving the claim.

5.14

The Court anticipates that a minority of commercial and corporations matters will be more effectively commenced by a Statement of Claim or Affidavit.

Such matters are likely to be simple, have narrow grounds of dispute, may be in the lower range of quantum claims, and will benefit from a "one-step" pleadings process.

Concise Statement Method (Two-Step Pleading Process) ➲ Majority of Cases

5.4

A party commencing a proceeding may file a Concise Statement in support of an Originating Application [Form 15].

The purpose of a Concise Statement is to enable the applicant to bring to the attention of the respondent and the Court the key issues and key facts at the heart of the dispute and the essential relief sought from the Court before what might be the considerable cost of preparation of detailed pleadings is incurred.  

While the form of the Concise Statement is described in more detail below, it must first be emphasised that the Concise Statement is not intended to substitute the traditional form of pleading with a short form of pleading, but instead should be prepared more in the nature of a pleading summons, and may be drafted in a narrative form.

5.5

If a Concise Statement is filed with the Originating Application [Form 15], no further originating material in support (whether by Statement of Claim or Affidavit) is required to be filed until the Court orders that to be done.

...

5.8

The Court anticipates that the majority of commercial and corporations matters will be assisted by being commenced with a concise statement. Applicants are encouraged to consider the alternatives carefully and to select the use of a concise statement unless it is clearly not an appropriate mechanism.

Applicants are encouraged to consider the alternatives carefully and to select the use of a concise statement unless it is clearly not an appropriate mechanism.

5.9

The Concise Statement should contain a section in which the applicant states what issues, if any, may be suitable for report by a referee under s54A of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth).

Pleadings without Tears

We have a copy of the book “Pleadings without Tears: A Guide to Legal Drafting Under the Civil Procedure Rules” by William Rose [revised & updated by Roger Eastman] in our law firm library in its 9th edition when it was published in 2017.

More editions of this highly valued & trusted guide will no doubt ensue.

The book was originally written back in 1990 specifically to address the problem of tears being shed over mistakes being made in Pleadings.

Trust me when I say that despite all the warnings, mistakes in Pleadings continue to this day.

There are good reasons why you don't want to be the party left crying over what could have been!

Further reading: FAQ ➲ What are Pleadings? Why are tears associated?

Important Notes:

Pricing does not include Court filing fees.

The party filing this Statement of Claim is required to serve a copy of the filed Statement of Claim together with all other filed documents on all other parties to the proceeding.

Social Media Sharing Image: Courtesy of Markus Winkler on Unsplash