How do I use ‘Create case’?

To use ‘Create case’, select the appropriate originating process from the County Court of Victoria menu.

The information to create a case varies with each lodgement. The minimum required information is:

• your reference
• case description
• case type*
• cause of action*
• court location
• claim amount
• jury required (y/n)
• plaintiff details
• defendant details
• originating document (attach)
• email address for service.

The case is created when the court reviewer accepts the filing and provides a new case number. Case numbers have the format CI-YY-NNNNN, for example CI-21-01234.

Your details (the practitioner details) automatically associate with the plaintiff/s. You can use ‘Add or Change Party’ to change the associated practitioner and party details.

You may also enter extra plaintiff or defendant details when creating a case.

When you file an initiating document, you’ll be reminded that you need to file the appropriate certifications. You can do this via Additional filing.

For detailed information on creating a case using Smart Writ, see our ‘Create Case Smart Writ’ help page.

How should I format the ‘Case description’?

The ‘Case description’ must identify the plaintiff and defendant. The County Court of Victoria describes a set of rules governing the format of a ‘Case description’. If you fail to adhere to these rules, the court may reject your document.

The ‘Case description’ is limited to 50 characters. If you need to enter a long party name that is likely to exceed the character limit, such as a complex organisation name, you must shorten the party name.

What information should I record in ‘Party details’?

A new case must have at least one plaintiff and one defendant. You may add up to 30 plaintiffs and 30 defendants to a case.

Defendants must have:

• party type – defendant
• name – either individual or organisation.

Plaintiffs must have:

• party type – plaintiff
• name – either individual or organisation, but not both
• address – may enter multiple addresses for a single party, but only one address of each type (mailing, home, business).

To record an international address for a party:

• Enter the suburb/city.
• Leave the ‘State’ field blank.
• Select the country from the code list provided.

How do I add name suffixes, such as an alias, to case parties?

You should not add name suffix information to the ‘Surname’ or ‘Organisation name’ fields. If you need to supply name suffix information (such as an alias, former name, and so on), you may do so after you’ve added the party to the case.

Once you’ve entered name details and saved a party/litigant, you may select the corresponding party/litigant details link from the ‘Case parties’ tab. Extra fields will then display, allowing you to provide:

• ABN
• alias
• former name
• former trading name
• litigation guardian*
• as executor of the estate of
• as administrator of
• as trustee of.

Once you’ve entered the necessary name suffix information, save the party to store these details.

How do I attach a document to my lodgement?

The final screen of ‘Create case (save case)’ has a ‘Browse’ button that allows you to locate a document on your computer and attach it to your eFiling.

Documents you attach to cases must be in PDF format.

All documents will be virus-checked and the transaction will end if a problem appears.

The current size limit for documents submitted via eFiling is 4MB. You must manually file documents over 4MB. The County Court of Victoria enforces this.

How can I reduce the size of my document to file?

If your document exceeds the 4MB limit, try re-scanning any scanned portions of the document at a lower resolution. Lower resolution does not overly affect document quality if the scanned document is mostly text.

Can I put a new case on hold?

You can put new cases on hold from the save case screen. Placing an eFiling on hold delays submission until you take it off hold.

The court and other filers cannot access eFilings that are on hold.

Please refer to County Court of Victoria eFiling overview for more information.

How will the Court Fee be determined for an Originating Motion or Writ Under the Instruments Act document?

Please refer to County Court of Victoria eFiling overview for more information.

How do I know if a case has been filed or rejected?

Originating process documents filed with the County Court of Victoria will require review. Documents are reviewed by registry staff during court operating hours.

Lodgements you make during court hours that are successfully filed will display the date of filing. Documents submitted after 4pm that are successfully filed will display a filed date, showing the next business day’s date with the time as 9am (Victorian business days only).

If the document has been rejected, you’ll receive a notification from the County Court of Victoria with a reason for rejection. To check this:

1. Select ‘Filing results’ from the County Court of Victoria eFiling menu.
2. Enter the appropriate criteria for your search.

How will I receive the case number?

New cases receive a Case number once the court has accepted the filing.

Case numbers are visible in ‘Filing results’. To find case numbers, you can use other identifying lodgement information such as:

• your reference
• case description
• status date.

How will I receive the court seal?

Originating Motions and Writs under the Instruments Act need a court seal. Our system adds the court seal to a cover sheet, along with the basic case information.

You can obtain the cover sheet from the ‘Form 28’ column in ‘Filing results’. Print as many copies as you need.

Note that you don’t need to print the seal in colour.

Our Customer Service Centre is here to help you between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.