Service of court documents on the Commonwealth
When you commence legal proceedings, you need to bring the proceedings to the attention of the other parties. You do this by providing them with copies of the documents you filed with the court. This is called ‘service’ of a suit or originating process. The relevant court rules will specify how an originating process should be served on the other parties. Usually, it needs to be served in person.
Effecting personal service of originating process
Where the Commonwealth is a party to a suit, a process in that suit must be served on the Attorney-General, or a person they have appointed to receive service. This is a requirement of section 63 of the Judiciary Act 1903.
This means that for an originating process that names the Commonwealth as a party, you can effect personal service by providing the documents to certain people the Attorney-General has appointed to receive service, at the locations listed below.
Canberra
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 5 4 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 | 02 6253 7000 | N/A |
| King & Wood Mallesons | Level 12 Constitution Place 1 Constitution Ave, CANBERRA ACT 2601 | 02 6217 6000 | 02 6217 6999 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Level 6 Constitution Place 1 Constitution Avenue Canberra ACT 2601 | 02 6110 3000 | 02 9947 6999 |
| Ashurst | Level 9 Civic Quarter 68 Northbourne Avenue CANBERRA ACT 2601 | 02 6234 4000 | 02 6234 4111 |
| Clayton Utz | Level 10 NewActon Nishi 2 Phillip Law St CANBERRA ACT 2601 | 02 6279 4000 | 02 6279 4099 |
| MinterEllison | Level 11 Constitution Place 1 Constitution Ave, CANBERRA ACT 2601 | 02 6225 3000 | 02 6225 1000 |
Sydney
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 10 60 Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000 | 02 9581 7777 | N/A |
| DLA Piper | Level 22 No. 1 Martin Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9286 8000 | 02 9286 8007 |
| King & Wood Mallesons | Level 61 Governor Phillip Tower 1 Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9296 2000 | 02 9296 3999 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Level 5 60 Martin Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9330 8000 | 02 9330 8111 |
| Ashurst | Level 11 5 Martin Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9258 6000 | 02 9258 6999 |
| Clayton Utz | Level 15 1 Bligh St SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9353 4000 | 02 8220 6700 |
| MinterEllison | Level 40 Governor Macquarie Tower 1 Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 | 02 9921 8888 | 02 9921 8123 |
Melbourne
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 34 600 Bourke St MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 9242 1222 | N/A |
| DLA Piper | 80 Collins Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 9274 5000 | 03 9274 5111 |
| King & Wood Mallesons | Level 27 Collins Arch 447 Collins Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 9643 4000 | 03 9643 5999 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Level 38 Olderfleet 477 Collins Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 8686 6000 | 03 8686 6505 |
| Ashurst | Level 16 80 Collins St South Tower MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 9679 3000 | 03 9679 3111 |
| Clayton Utz | Level 18 333 Collins Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 9286 6000 | 03 9629 8488 |
| MinterEllison | Level 20 Collins Arch 447 Collins St MELBOURNE VIC 3000 | 03 8608 2000 | 03 8608 1000 |
Brisbane
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 33 300 George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3360 5600 | N/A |
| DLA Piper | Level 9 480 Queen St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3246 4000 | 07 3246 4077 |
| King & Wood Mallesons | Level 33 Waterfront Place 1 Eagle St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3244 8000 | 07 3244 8999 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Level 21 ONE ONE ONE 111 Eagle St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3414 2888 | 07 3414 2999 |
| Ashurst | Level 38 Riverside Centre 123 Eagle St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3259 7000 | 07 3259 7111 |
| Clayton Utz | Level 28 Riparian Plaza 71 Eagle St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3292 7000 | 07 3221 9669 |
| MinterEllison | Level 22 Waterfront Place 1 Eagle St BRISBANE QLD 4000 | 07 3119 6000 | 07 3119 1000 |
Perth
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 21 Exchange Tower 2 The Esplanade PERTH WA 6000 | 08 9268 1199 | 8 9268 1198 |
| DLA Piper | Level 21 240 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 6467 6000 | 08 6467 6001 |
| King & Wood Mallesons | Level 30 QV.1 Building 250 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 9269 7000 | 08 9269 7999 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Level 30 108 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 6212 3222 | 08 6212 3444 |
| Ashurst | Level 10 Brookfield Place Tower II 123 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 9366 8000 | 08 9366 8111 |
| Clayton Utz | Level 27 QV.1 Building 250 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 9426 8000 | 08 9481 3095 |
| MinterEllison | Level 4 Allendale Square 77 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 | 08 6189 7800 | 08 6189 7999 |
Adelaide
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 5 101 Pirie St ADELAIDE SA 5000 | 08 8205 4211 | N/A |
| MinterEllison | Level 10 Grenfell Centre 25 Grenfell St ADELAIDE SA 5000 | 08 8233 5555 | 08 8233 5556 |
Darwin
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 10 TIO Centre 24 Mitchell St DARWIN NT 0800 | 08 8943 1444 | N/A |
| Clayton Utz | 17-19 Lindsay St DARWIN NT 0800 | 08 8943 2555 | 08 8943 2500 |
| MinterEllison | Level 1 60 Smith Street Darwin NT 0800 | 08 8901 5900 | 08 8901 5902 |
Hobart
| Address | Phone Number | Fax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Government Solicitor | Level 8 188 Collins St HOBART TAS 7000 | 03 6210 2100 | 03 6210 2110 |
Law firms providing legal services to the Commonwealth or its agencies may apply to the Office of Legal Services Coordination to be appointed to receive service on behalf of the Commonwealth under the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth).
Refer to Guidance note 9 to the Legal Services Directions 2017 for an indication of the issues an application for appointment should address.
Providing an originating process electronically
AGS has set up an email address to help bring an originating process that names the Commonwealth as a party to the attention of the relevant part of the Commonwealth.
Sending an originating process to this email address will not ordinarily constitute effective service. However, where you send an originating process to that address, AGS will forward the originating process to the relevant Commonwealth department or agency, or their lawyer, in order for them to contact you and advise whether service is accepted.
Find out more about how to email an originating process on the AGS website.