New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

UNIFORM CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES 2005 - REG 10.20

10.20 Personal service required only in certain circumstances

(cf SCR Part 9, rules 1 and 2; DCR Part 8, rule 3; LCR Part 7, rules 3 and 20)

(1) Any document required or permitted to be served on a person in any proceedings may be personally served, but need not be personally served unless these rules so require or the court so orders.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by these rules--

(a) any originating process, and any order for examination or garnishee order, in proceedings in the Supreme Court, the Industrial Relations Commission (including the Commission when constituted as the Industrial Court), the Land and Environment Court, the District Court or the Dust Diseases Tribunal must be personally served, and

(b) any originating process in the Local Court must be served in one of the following ways--

(i) it may be personally served on the defendant,

(ii) it may be left, addressed to the defendant, at the defendant's business or residential address, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address,

(iii) if served by the Local Court, it may be sent by post, addressed to the defendant, to the defendant's business or residential address in an envelope marked with a return address (being the address of the Local Court but not so identified), and

(c) any order for examination, garnishee order or subpoena for attendance in proceedings in the Local Court must be served in one of the following ways--

(i) it may be personally served on the person to whom it is directed,

(ii) it may be left, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, at that person's business or residential address, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address, and

(d) any subpoena for production in proceedings in the District Court or the Local Court must be served in one of the following ways--

(i) it may be served personally on the person to whom it is directed,

(ii) it may be left, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, at that person's business or residential address, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address,

(iii) it may be sent by post, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, to the person's business or residential address in an envelope marked with the return address of the party at whose request the subpoena was issued.

Note--: As to service by post, see section 76 of the Interpretation Act 1987 .

(3) If an envelope, posted as referred to in subrule (2)(b)(iii), is returned to the court by the postal authority as having not been delivered to the addressee--

(a) service of the document contained in the envelope is taken not to have been effected, and

(b) any judgment given or entered on the basis of that service is to be set aside,

and the registrar must so advise the party by whom or on whose behalf it was posted.

(4) Service of a subpoena in accordance with subrule (2)(c)(ii) or (d)(ii) or (iii) is taken to be personal service for the purposes of rule 33.5(1).

(5) Unless an earlier date is proved, a defendant who enters an appearance is taken to have been personally served with the relevant originating process on the date on which appearance was entered.

(6) The provisions of this rule concerning the service of originating processes extend to the service of amended statements of claim if the defendant to be served has not filed either a notice of appearance or notice of defence.