QCAT Form 9: the affidavit of service for a Queensland minor civil dispute

QCAT Form 9 is the Affidavit of service: a sworn statement, made by the person who served your application, proving the respondent was given a sealed copy. In a Queensland consumer and trader dispute you have 7 days to serve the application, then that person signs Form 9 in front of a qualified witness and files it at the registry where the application was lodged.

This is general information, not legal advice. For where Form 9 sits among the other QCAT forms, see our QCAT forms guide.

What Form 9 is for

In a consumer and trader dispute, QCAT does not hand your application to the other side. Once it is filed and accepted, QCAT gives you a sealed (stamped) copy and you must serve it on every respondent. QCase does not serve it for you either.

Form 9 is how you prove that happened. QCAT says the affidavit “is required to prove the application has been given to the respondent.” You file it with QCAT; you do not need to give a copy to the respondent.

The current form is Form 9 (version 4), made under rule 42 of the QCAT Rules. Download it from QCAT’s forms page, where it is listed under Service and Affidavits.

Serving the application, and the 7-day window

For a consumer and trader application (Form 1, or the same claim made in QCase), Form 1’s instructions say: “You have 7 days from the day you lodge your application” to serve each respondent. Check the date stamp on your application and count from that day.

QCAT lists these ways to serve a consumer and trader application:

• personally, by handing it to the respondent;
• by post;
• through a Magistrates Court bailiff, commercial agent or process server, for a fee.

The QCAT Rules also allow email or fax, but only if the respondent’s address for service includes one, and leaving it with someone who is apparently an adult living or working at the address. If you serve it in person and the respondent refuses to take it, QCAT’s practice direction says it is enough to put it down in their presence and say what it is.

Serving a company can involve different requirements; an ASIC company search may be needed. If the respondent is outside Queensland, a SEPA Form 1 notice must be attached to the application when you serve it, or service is not effective.

A minor debt claim (Form 3) runs on different rules: 90 days to serve, and Form 3 and Form 9 both point to personal service. Follow the service instructions on Form 3.

How to fill in Form 9, step by step

1. Part A, application and matter details. Enter the applicant and respondent exactly as named on your application, the QCAT case number, and the registry or Magistrates Court where the application was lodged. Use the exact company or business name; the form warns you may not be able to enforce an order against a wrongly named party.
2. Part B, who is swearing. The full name and address of the person who served the documents. If a bailiff or process server did it, they complete the affidavit, not you.
3. Part B, what was served. The date and time of service, the name of the person or business served, the name of the documents (for example, the sealed application and attachments), and the date they were filed at QCAT.
4. Tick one box. Either you have attached a copy of the document served, or the document has already been filed and is named in Part B.
5. Complete one of the three service sections. Section 1, personal service on an individual: the address and how you identified the person. Section 2, service on a company: delivery to a director, or leaving or posting it at the registered office. Section 3, other service: email, leaving it with an adult at the address, or another permitted way.
6. Interstate service. If you served outside Queensland, tick whether you attached the SEPA notice.
7. Sign in front of the witness. Do not sign beforehand. The person making the affidavit and the witness both sign at the foot of each page that asks for it, and on the signature page with the date and place.

For personal service, rule 42 requires the time, day and date, the place, and the name of the person served and how they were identified. Write these down on the day you serve.

Who can witness Form 9

The signature block on Form 9 lists three kinds of qualified witness: a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner for Declarations, or a solicitor. QCAT’s application page describes an affidavit as sworn “in the presence of a commissioner of declarations, justice of the peace or a lawyer”, but the same page also says Form 9 “must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace”. A JP meets every QCAT statement.

Bring identification. Under the Oaths Act, the witness must take reasonable steps to check who you are before signing.

Check it before you swear it. The form warns that knowingly giving the registry false or misleading information is an offence (QCAT Act, section 216).

Where to file it, and what to attach

File Form 9 at the registry where your original application was lodged: QCAT in Brisbane (Floor 11, 259 Queen Street, or GPO Box 1639, Brisbane Qld 4001), or the Magistrates Court where you lodged. If your case is in QCase, the QCase guide includes help for completing and uploading witnessed QCAT forms on an existing case.

Attach a copy of the document you served, unless it is already on QCAT’s file and you ticked that box.

If you cannot serve, or have no proof

If you cannot find the respondent, or need more time, apply to QCAT on Form 42 for an extension of time or for substituted service (permission to serve another way). QCAT can extend the period for service.

Without a sworn affidavit of service you have no formal proof the respondent was served. In a minor debt claim this matters directly: to ask for a decision by default, QCAT requires “affidavit evidence that the application has been served on the respondent”, either Form 9 or Part B of Form 6.

Where Claim Done fits

Claim Done drafts your Tribunal Application from your answers: the claim text for QCAT’s form from $49, or the full application pack for $97. You review it before anything is final. Claim Done does not lodge the application and does not serve it for you; you serve it and complete Form 9 yourself. For the whole process from lodging to hearing, see how to file a QCAT application in Queensland.

Frequently asked questions

What is QCAT Form 9?

Form 9 is QCAT’s Affidavit of service. The person who served your application swears or affirms how, when and where it was served, and the form is filed with QCAT to prove the respondent was given the application.

How long do I have to serve a QCAT consumer and trader application?

Form 1 says you have 7 days from the day you lodge your application to serve each respondent; check the date stamp on your application. A minor debt claim (Form 3) has 90 days. If you need more time, apply on Form 42.

Who can witness a QCAT affidavit of service?

Form 9 lists a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner for Declarations or a solicitor. One line on QCAT’s application page says Form 9 must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, so a JP meets every QCAT statement. Sign in front of the witness and bring identification.

Who fills in Form 9 if a process server or bailiff served the documents?

The person who did the serving. QCAT says the affidavit is completed by the person who served the application, which could be you, a bailiff or another person.

Where do I file Form 9, and does the respondent get a copy?

File it at the registry where your original application was lodged, either QCAT in Brisbane or the Magistrates Court where you lodged. You do not need to give the respondent a copy.

What do I attach to Form 9?

A copy of the document you served, unless that document is already filed with QCAT, in which case you tick the box saying so and name it in Part B.