Division 7 General

30F   Address for service—legal practitioner

(1)  This clause applies to proceedings under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

(2)  A legal practitioner who has not given an address for service is not entitled to be heard by the Court in proceedings to which the clause applies unless the Court orders otherwise.

(3)  A legal practitioner may give an address for service in proceedings to which the clause applies:

(a)  by filing a notice of address for service in accordance with Form 1 of Schedule 1, or

(b)  by filing another relevant document that includes an address for service.

(4)  Unless the Court orders otherwise, if a legal practitioner who does not have an address for service files a document in proceedings to which the clause applies, the document must include the legal practitioner’s address for service.

(5)  An address for service must be an address in New South Wales.

(6)  A legal practitioner may change the legal practitioner’s address for service in the proceedings by filing a notice of address for service in accordance with Form 1.

(7)  Unless the Court orders otherwise, a legal practitioner who files a notice of address for service in proceedings under this clause must serve a sealed copy of the notice on each other party to the proceedings.

(8)  If a legal practitioner notifies an address for service under this clause, leaving a copy of a document at, or sending a copy of a document by post addressed to the person at, that address for service is taken to be good service on the person.

(9)  If a legal practitioner notifies an address for service that is an office that has an exchange box in a document exchange of Australian Document Exchange Pty Limited, in the State, leaving a copy of a document, addressed to that legal practitioner, at that exchange box or at another exchange box for transmission to that exchange box is taken to be good service on the person on a day two days after the copy is left.

30G   Service of documents generally

(1)  Subject to this Rule, a document may be served on a person:

(a)  by means of personal service, or

(b)  by posting a copy of the document, addressed to the person, to the person’s address for service, or

(c)  by leaving a copy of the document, addressed to the person at the person’s address for service, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address.

(2)  In the case of a person having an address for service that is a solicitor’s office address, service of a document on the person may also be effected:

(a)  if the notice advising the address for service includes a DX address, by leaving a copy of the document, addressed to the solicitor, in that DX box at that address or in another DX box for transmission to that DX box, or

(b)  if the notice advising the address for service includes a fax number, by faxing a copy of the document to that number, or

(c)  if the notice advising the address for service includes an electronic mail address, by transmitting an electronic copy of the document to that address.

(3)  Unless the contrary is proved, the time at which a document is taken to have been served is:

(a)  in the case of a document that is left in a DX box in accordance with subclause (2) (a), at the end of the second day following the day on which the copy is so left, or

(b)  in the case of a copy of a document that is faxed in accordance with subclause (2) (b), at the end of the first day following the day on which the copy is so faxed.

Note. See clause 13 of Schedule 1 to the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 as to when an electronic copy of a document is taken to have been delivered to an electronic mail address.

30H   Personal service required only in certain circumstances

(1)  Any document required or permitted to be served on a person in any proceedings may be personally served, but need not be personally served unless this Rule so requires or the Court so orders.

(2)  Except as otherwise provided by this Rule:

(a)  a care proceedings attendance notice must be personally served, and

(b)  a subpoena for attendance must be served in one of the following ways:

(i)  it may be personally served on the person to whom it is directed,

(ii)  it may be left, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, at that person’s business or residential address, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address, and

(c)  a subpoena for production must be served in one of the following ways:

(i)  it may be served personally on the person to whom it is directed,

(ii)  it may be left, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, at that person’s business or residential address, with a person who is apparently of or above the age of 16 years and apparently employed or residing at that address,

(iii)  it may be sent by post, addressed to the person to whom it is directed, to the person’s business or residential address in an envelope marked with the return address of the party at whose request the subpoena was issued.

Note. As to service by post, see section 76 of the Interpretation Act 1987.

(3)  If the postal authority returns, as having not been delivered, an envelope, posted as referred to in subclause (2) (c) (iii), to the party by whom or on whose behalf it was posted:

(a)  service of the document contained in the envelope is taken not to have been effected, and

(b)  any decision made on the basis of that service is to be set aside.

30I   How personal service effected

(1)  Personal service of a document on a person is effected by leaving a copy of the document with the person or, if the person does not accept the copy, by putting the copy down in the person’s presence and telling the person the nature of the document.

(2)  If, by violence or threat of violence, a person attempting service is prevented from approaching another person for the purpose of delivering a document to the other person, the person attempting service may deliver the document to the other person by leaving it as near as practicable to that other person.

(3)  Service in accordance with subclause (2) is taken to constitute personal service.

30J   Substituted and informal service

(1)  If a document that is required or permitted to be served on a person in connection with any proceedings:

(a)  cannot practicably be served on the person, or

(b)  cannot practicably be served on the person in the manner provided by law,

      the Court may, by order, direct that, instead of service, such steps be taken as are specified in the order for the purpose of bringing the document to the notice of the person concerned.

(2)  An order under this clause may direct that the document be taken to have been served on the person concerned on the happening of a specified event or on the expiry of a specified time.

(3)  If steps have been taken, otherwise than under an order under this clause, for the purpose of bringing the document to the notice of the person concerned, the Court may, by order, direct that the document be taken to have been served on that person on a date specified in the order.

(4)  Service in accordance with this clause is taken to constitute personal service.