Collecting civil debt: information for creditors

You can ask the court to help you collect your civil debt if the debtor does not pay. This is called civil enforcement. You will manage the civil enforcement process yourself, and you may have to pay fees.

Find out about civil enforcement fees

You can only begin civil enforcement when two conditions are met

You can only ask the court to take civil enforcement action against a debtor when two conditions are met:

A court or tribunal has found in your favour and orders a person or organisation to pay you civil debt.
The 48 hour stand-down period has passed since the order was made and the person or organisation has not paid you on time.

Find out about the 48 hour stand-down period

You must manage and apply for civil enforcement yourself

The court does not enforce judgment orders automatically. If you are a creditor and want the court to take enforcement action against a debtor, you must:

select the enforcement actions you think are best for your situation
apply to the court to carry out the enforcement actions you have selected
give the court correct, up-to-date information about the debtor to support the specific enforcement actions you are requesting
pay the associated fees for each enforcement action you request.

Usually, the court will make your contact details available to the debtor unless you specifically ask them not to.

Deciding what enforcement action to apply for

If you had a civil case at court and the other person (the debtor) has been ordered to pay you but they haven't, the court might be able to help you get money.

Note: The information contained in the graphic below is also available in a text only format for those who have difficulty viewing the graphic:

Alternative text for civil enforcement graphic

Civil enforcement graphic - step 1