Respond to an application or interim Harmful Digital Communications order

Here you will find information about how you can respond to a harmful digital communications application or interim order made against you.

What you have received

The court would’ve sent you either;

  • An application form with supporting documents explaining to you that somebody is applying for a harmful digital communications order against you, or
  • An interim order the court has put in place against you with supporting documents explaining what the interim order means and what you can do.

You now get the chance to respond to the application itself or inform the courts that you wish to be heard on the interim order and tell them why it should not be made final.

Decide if you want to be heard

As a defendant you need to decide if you wish to be heard or take part in the civil proceedings. You can take part in these proceedings on your own, have a lawyer represent you or on your behalf or not be involved at all. The courts would've told you which of the two forms you will need to fill out.

If you fill out one of these forms then you do not have to appear at a hearing if you don't want to. The court will still be able to take the information you have provided and make a decision on orders being made final or not.

To oppose the application then you need to fill in this form:

Notice of opposition to a Harmful Digital Communications order [PDF, 628 KB]

To apply to be heard on an interim order you need to fill in this form:

Notice to be heard on an interim Harmful Digital Communications order [PDF, 590 KB]

How the process works

There are two processes that will take place when an application has been given to the court. When an application is made on notice you as the defendant will be informed at step 4.

Application On Notice:
  1. Application given to the court.
  2. The court accepts the application and gives it to a judge to consider.
  3. The courts then schedule a date and time for a hearing.
  4. A letter gets sent to you and the applicant telling you what the date and time for the hearing is (also known as a Notice of Proceedings).
    Note: as the defendant you will get told what steps you can take to respond prior to the hearing.
  5. At the hearing you and the applicant will have a chance to speak in front of the judge. However you are not obliged to be at the hearing if you don’t want to be.
  6. The judge will either make a decision at the end of the hearing or tell you when you can expect to get a decision.
Application Without Notice:
  1. Application given to the court.
  2. The court accepts the application and gives it to a judge to consider either to make an order, issue an interim order, change the application to ‘on notice’ or decline the application.
    Note: If the judge changes the application to ‘on notice’ then the process will proceed as if that’s how the application was originally made.
  3. If an interim order has been made, you will get the chance to be heard and say why you don't think the order should be made final.
  4. A letter gets sent to you and the applicant telling you what the date and time for the hearing is (also known as a Notice of Proceedings).
    Note: at the same time the applicant will be given a copy of your notice to be heard (Notice to be heard on an interim harmful digital communications order being made final) and any supporting documents.
  5. At the hearing you and the applicant will have a chance to speak in front of the judge.
  6. The judge will either make a decision at the end of the hearing or tell you when you can expect to get a decision.
 
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