​ሕግንና ደንብን በተመለከተ እርዳታ ማግኘት ይፈልጋሉን? - Amharic | هل تحتاج لمساعدة قانونية؟ - Arabic | ܤܢܝܼܩܵܐ ܝ݇ܘ̤ܬ ܠܗܲܝܵܪܬܵܐ ܩܵܢܘܿܢܵܝܬܵܐ؟ - Assyrian | Need Legal Help? - Auslan | Treba li vam pravna pomoc? - Bosnian | Burmese â Need Legal Help? | 需要法律帮助吗? - Chinese Simplified | 需要法律幫助嗎? - Chinese Traditional | Trebate li pravnu pomoć? - Croatian | ضرورت به کمک قانونی دارید؟ - Dari | Wïc Kuɔɔny në Wɛ̈t Löŋ? - Dinka | آیا به کمک حقوقی نیاز دارید؟ - Farsi | Gadreva na Veivuke Vakalawa? - Fijian | Kailangan ninyo ba ng tulong na panglegal? - Filipino | Besoin d’aide juridique ? - French | Χρειάζεστε βοήθεια σε νομικά ζητήματα - Greek | क्या आपको कानूनी सलाह चाहिए? - Hindi | Butuhkan Bantuan dalam Masalah Hukum? - Indonesian | Hai bisogno di assistenza legale? - Italian | ត្រូវការជំនួយលើបញ្ហាផ្លូវច្បាប់ឬទេ? - Khmer | 법적인 도움이 필요하십니까? - Korean | Ви треба ли помош со правни работи? - Macedonian | कानूनी सहयोग चाहिएको छ? - Nepalese | Necessita de ajuda com questões jurídicas? - Portuguese | Вам нужна юридическая помощь? - Russian | E Manaomia Fesoasoani i Mea Tau Tulafono? - Samoan | а ли вам треба помоћ у правним питањима? - Serbian | Ma u baahan tahay Caawimmad xagga sharciga ah?- Somali | ¿Necesita ayuda con cuestiones jurídicas? - Spanish | சட்ட உதவி தேவையா? - Tamil | ท่านต้องการความช่วยเหลือทางด้านกฎหมายไหม? - Thai | Fiema’u ha tokoni Fakalao? - Tongan | Yasal Danışmaya İhtiyacınız mı var? - Turkish | Cần Được Giúp Đỡ Về Luật Pháp? - Vietnamese |

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Subpoenas

A subpoena is a court order that requires a person or company officer to:

  • attend a hearing to give evidence​
  • produce documents or other items. or
  • both produce documents and attend a hearing.

Alert iconYou should get legal advice before preparing, filing and serving a subpoena.

Where can I get a blank subpoena?

You can get a blank subpoena from the:

  • registry of the Court that is hearing your case, or
  • General federal law forms page on the Federal Circuit and Family Co​urt of Australia website.

What might a completed subpoena look like?

At the bottom of each subpoena you need to fill out the box with the details of:

  • which party the subpoena was filed for
  • who prepared it
  • details of that party's lawyer (if they have one).

The second page will have the details of the order to attend and/or to produce documents, including the time, date and place the witness must attend or produce documents. There are three parts. Which part you use will depend on the type of subpoena you want to serve.

  • Part A is used where you just want a witness to give evidence
  • Part B is used where you want the witness to give evidence and produce documents
  • Part C is used where you just want documents produced.

You can cross out the two parts you don't want to use, and fill in the details of the part you do want to use.

The third page will list the documents and items that need to be produced under the subpoena.

Alert icon You need to be clear about what documents you want. If you are too vague, the Court might order that the subpoena doesn't have to be complied with.

Instructions/sample iconInstructions: Instructions for filling out a Subpoena

Instructions/sample iconSample: Subpoena

How do I serve the subpoena?

If the subpoena requires a person to attend court and give evidence, the subpoena must be served by hand on the person. That means they should be given the subpoena, or it can be put down in their presence if they won't accept it. If the subpoena only requires someone to produce documents, it can be served by post or fax.

When serving a subpoena, you should also give the person served 'conduct money', which is enough money for them to travel from their place of residence to court. This amount should be at least $25.00.

You should make sure you give the person the extra pages that are attached to the back of the subpoena when you serve it, including:

  • notes relating to the subpoena
  • a Notice of Objection form.

You can leave the Notice of Objection form blank.

What is a Notice of Objection?

A Notice of Objection can be filed by the person who is served with the subpoena if they object to the subpoena for any reason. Once a Notice of Objection is filed, the Court will list the objection for hearing. If a person or company you subpoenaed has filed a Notice of Objection, you should get legal advice.

For answers to commonly asked questions, see Going to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia - Frequently Asked Questions.