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Commonwealth act
This law makes it significantly easier for Australians and New Zealanders to deal with each other through the court system. Before this Act, if you were involved in a legal dispute crossing the Tasman Sea, you faced a bureaucratic nightmare. This Act cuts through much of that red tape.
1. Serving Court Papers Across the Tasman If you're suing someone in Australia who lives in New Zealand, you can now serve them with court papers (the documents that formally start a lawsuit) in New Zealand — without needing special permission from the court first. The person being sued gets information about what they need to do and has 30 working days to respond.
2. Choosing the Right Court (Forum) If you get sued in an Australian court but think New Zealand is the more appropriate place for the case to be heard, you can apply to have the case moved. The Act sets out specific factors the court must weigh up — like where the parties live, where witnesses are, and what law applies. Importantly, if the parties had a written agreement specifying which country's courts would handle disputes (called an "exclusive choice of court agreement"), the courts must respect that agreement.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
3. Emergency Court Orders Across Borders If you have a court case running in New Zealand but urgently need an Australian court to freeze assets or take other emergency action (called "interim relief") in Australia to protect your position, you can apply directly to specified Australian courts for that help.
4. Compelling Witnesses Across the Tasman Australian courts can issue a "subpoena" (a legal order requiring someone to give evidence or hand over documents) that can be served on people in New Zealand, and vice versa. The person receiving such an order must comply. Expenses must be covered by whoever seeks the order, and there are processes to challenge ("set aside") subpoenas that are unfair or burdensome.
5. Appearing in Court Without Travelling Parties, lawyers, and witnesses can participate in court hearings from the other country via video link or phone — without physically crossing the Tasman. This saves significant time and money.
6. Enforcing NZ Court Judgments in Australia If a New Zealand court orders someone to pay you money or do something, and that person has assets in Australia, you can now register that New Zealand judgment in an Australian court and enforce it here — almost as if the Australian court itself had made the order. This applies to most civil (non-criminal) judgments, and even some criminal proceedings where compensation is ordered for victims.
7. Trans-Tasman Market Rules Special rules apply for cases involving competition and consumer law that affect both countries' markets.
8. Evidence Rules There are streamlined rules for using New Zealand legal documents and evidence in Australian proceedings.
The Act deliberately does NOT cover:
Australia and New Zealand have deep economic and personal ties. Before this Act, enforcing a court judgment across the Tasman could mean starting a whole new court case in the other country — expensive, slow, and uncertain. This Act makes the legal system function almost as if the two countries were a single jurisdiction for many civil matters, reducing costs and uncertainty for anyone involved in cross-border disputes.