On 7 February 2025, the Federal Court of Australia updated several of its Practice Notes across all National Practice Areas (NPAs), excluding Defamation and Federal Crime, to accommodate the new Duty (Urgent) Applications Trial which commenced on 3 February 2025.
The court has also released a separate General Practice Note to cover the trial: Duty (Urgent) Applications Interim Practice Note during 3 Region Trial (GPN-DUTY) (link below) along with further guidance.
The trial applies to urgent applications in existing proceedings and urgent applications to initiate new proceedings and involves dividing the court’s registries into three duty regions.
Queensland along with Victoria and Tasmania are allocated into “Region 2”, which is further divided into two streams for “General Duty” and “Commercial and Corporations Duty”.
The Practice Note changes relate to updated procedures for bringing urgent applications before the court (eg applications for urgent interim/interlocutory relief) and outline the handling processes for such applications.
Applicants and practitioners should be familiar and comply with GPN-DUTY which includes a requirement to file a “Certificate of Urgency” when requesting an urgent application hearing.
In addition to GPN-DUTY, practitioners should refer to the updated Practice Notes for the relevant NPAs.
Practice Notes and Guidance:
- Duty (Urgent) Applications Interim Practice Note during 3 Region Trial (GPN-DUTY): https://fedcourt.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-documents/practice-notes/gpn-duty
- Guidance on how to file an Urgent Application: https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/contact/urgent-duty-matters
- Full index of Practice Notes: https://fedcourt.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-documents/practice-notes
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