Completing, filing and serving documents

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Completing forms

Find and complete a form you require on our forms and fees page. The forms are available as Word documents to be downloaded, edited and printed.

Many of the documents you will need to file are prescribed forms set by the Employment Court Regulations 2000. These forms must follow certain standards in terms of presentation and content. The registry can refuse documents that don't comply with these standards.

A lawyer or an employment advocate can help you draft the forms you need.

Find out more about Employment Court forms and fees(external link).

Find out more about professional help.

Complete an affidavit when you need to present evidence in written form. Your affidavit is a document that contains information which you can swear or affirm is true.

Find a basic template for affidavits on our forms and fees page.

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Content of an affidavit

An affidavit should contain all the written evidence that you want to present. It should be written in the first person (for example, ‘I saw…’, ‘he said to me…’), and must state your full name, occupation and where you live. 

You can only cover matters that would be allowed if you were giving evidence in court. If it is an affidavit in reply, it must be strictly in reply. If the affidavit includes unnecessary material, the Judge may refuse to read it and may order you to pay related costs. 

Any documents referred to in an affidavit must be attached and referred to as exhibits. For example, ‘Bank statement of plaintiff, dated 01/01/01, marked as EXHIBIT A’. The exhibit itself must be marked with the letter or number given to it in the affidavit (for example, the bank statement should be marked with an ‘A’) and be identified by an exhibit note. Below is an example of an exhibit note:

Employment Court exhibit note

Before the document is sworn or affirmed you should check that:

  • you have included all the information you want to present as evidence, and
  • that the information you have provided is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief. This means that you are sure that all the information is true and that there are no mistakes in the document.

Mistakes in affidavits are not easily fixed and will usually mean you need to file another affidavit to correct it. If you realise that an affidavit contains a mistake after it is sworn, you should contact the registry. They will tell you if you need to file a second affidavit or if you can amend the initial affidavit by hand (in front of the person who took the affidavit).

Every page of the affidavit must be initialled except for the cover page and the page that has been signed. Every exhibit must be initialled too. 

Swearing and affirming

A document is not an affidavit until you have given an oath or affirmation verifying its contents. The oath or affirmation must be done in front of a person lawfully authorised to take oaths.

Swearing an affidavit is when a witness makes a Christian oath on the Bible. If you do not want to swear on the Bible, you can affirm the document instead. If you do not wish to swear or affirm, you should advise the registry in advance of the hearing.

People authorised to take affidavits

The following people are authorised to take affidavits and affirmations in New Zealand that are presented in the Employment Court:

If an affidavit or affirmation is made outside New Zealand, then the affidavit or affirmation can be taken by:

  • a Commonwealth representative in that country
  • a Commissioner of the High Court of New Zealand who has authority in that country
  • a person authorised to take affidavits under the laws of that country
  • a person authorised by a judge to administer the oath.

Offences for misleading justice

You must be truthful in all communications and documents filed with the Court. Misleading the Court is serious and to do so knowingly can be considered a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.

Find out more in the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957(external link).

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Amended pleadings

Sometimes a party may wish to change its position, and file an amended statement of claim or and amended statement of defence. You can amend a statement of claim or defence, as of right, at any stage of the proceedings before your case is set down for hearing.

For further information about the form of an amended pleading please see the Employment Court Practice Directions [PDF, 464 KB] and our page on Practice directions, legislation and rules.

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Filing documents

Where do I file documents

File your challenge to a determination of the Employment Relations Authority with the registry nearest to the Employment Relations Authority office that made the decision.

File any other statement of claim or originating document with the registry nearest to where the event in dispute happened (unless the parties agree otherwise and note this on the statement of claim). 1

File a statement of defence or subsequent documents with the registry stated on the statement of claim.

How do I file documents

You can file any document by email to EmploymentCourt@justice.govt.nz
You can also file documents (and pay the filing fee if necessary) by accessing File and Pay(external link)

After entering your contact details, select:

  • Court type: Employment Court
  • Location: either Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch
  • Case type: Other documents
  • Filing type: Select the appropriate document from the list provided
  • Enter the case title (names of the parties) and case numbers (file number if known)

If you are filing documents using File and Pay or by email, the registry will advise you whether and how many hard copies of the documents you will need to give. 

It is advisable that when sending documents by email to state in the subject line the file number and parties’ names; or ‘new filing’ for a new matter; and ‘urgent’ if the matter is urgent. 

You can also file documents by post or over the counter at the registry. 

Find out more at Employment Court forms and fees(external link) and how to find us on Contact and find us page(external link).

How do I pay the filing fee

You can pay the required filing fee online, by internet banking or through File and Pay and/or using cash, EFTPOS, debit or credit card at the court counter.

For more information on accepted payment options, visit our Forms and fees section(external link).

Difficulty paying the filing fee and/or hearing fee? You can apply for the fee to be waived, reduced or deferred

If you cannot pay, or will have difficulty paying, the Court fees, please let the registry know.  There is a form that you can fill in which will be referred to a Judge for a decision. Please use this Form [PDF, 192 KB](external link).

You should fill out the form and give it to the registry when you go to file your claim (filing fee) or before the dates for the hearing are confirmed (hearing fee).

Make sure you provide information about your financial position to help the Judge decide whether you should pay the fee or not, or that it should be reduced or payment of it deferred to a later date.

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Serving documents

Serve documents in the following ways:2

Serving originating documents (challenges, statements of claim)

  • Serve in person
    Take a copy of the statement of claim to the defendant and give it to the defendant. If the defendant does not accept it, put the form down directly in front of the person and tell the person that they have now been served.
  • Serve by registered post (track and trace courier post)
    Send a copy of the statement of claim to the defendant by registered post to the defendant’s last known residence or place of business.
  • Serve a company or organisation (including a union)
    Send a copy of the statement of claim by registered post to the registered office of that company or organisation; or to any postal box held in New Zealand by that company or organisation.
  • Serve a New Zealand corporation
    Leave a copy of the statement of claim with any officer of the corporation or any employee of the corporation’s head office.
  • Serve an unincorporated society
    Leave a copy of the statement of claim with the president, chairperson or secretary of the society.
  • Serve a partnership
    Leave a copy of the statement of claim with any partner or at the principal place of the business of the partnership.

Notes:

  • If you are serving a statement of claim against more than one defendant, you must serve each defendant with a copy of the statement of claim even if they have the same address for service
  • If you are serving a challenge to an Employment Relations Authority determination, you cannot serve the challenge on the other party’s representative unless that representative has confirmed to you (preferably in writing) that they are authorised to accept service of documents in the Court proceedings.

Serving subsequent documents

You can use any of the methods listed above, as well as email, facsimile or DX/PO Box number if the plaintiff has provided those addresses in their statement of claim.

(Note: This does not apply when serving a statement of claim.)

Serve as soon as possible

You must serve the other parties within a reasonable time and advise the registry when and how you served them.

You might be asked by the judge or registry at some point to file an affidavit of service; the template is on our forms and fees page.

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Footnotes

  1. reg 23-24, Employment Court Regulations 2000(external link)
  2. reg 27-31, Employment Court Regulations 2000(external link)

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