3. Procedural hearing in a financial case
A registrar conducts your procedural hearing in a financial case either:
- at the end of the conciliation conference, or
- if no conciliation conference is held, at the end of the case assessment conference.
What happens at the procedural hearing in a financial case?
The registrar makes procedural orders to progress your case to a first day before the judge and a date is allocated for that hearing.
For more details about the orders made by the registrar see the brochure Conciliation Conference available at the Publications section of this website.
The seeting-down and hearing fees must be paid within the time directed (or an application made for a reduced fee). You can obtain details of the amount of the fee at the Fees section of this website, including information on reduced fees. The person who started the case (the applicant) is usually (but not always) the one who pays the fee. If the fee is not paid within the time allowed the trial may be cancelled.
The registrar may also order the parties to attend a compliance check (generally by telephone) about 21 days before the first day before the judge to ensure all orders have been complied with.
What is the next step?
The next step is that the parties attend the first day before the judge (usually a first procedural hearing before the judge unless the parties agree (consent) to the financial issues being decided in a less adversarial trial.