Civil Procedure and Evidence
Jurisdiction, Commencing Proceedings and Case Management
A candidate must know the source and limits of jurisdiction (Federal Court, Supreme Court, Local/District Court monetary limits), the requirements of an originating process, service (personal, substituted, and service outside Australia under the relevant rules), and the entering of an appearance. Interlocutory practice matters: notices of motion, affidavits, directions hearings, and the court's case-management powers including unless orders and costs sanctions for non-compliance. Pleadings must disclose a reasonable cause of action and avoid embarrassment; strike-out and summary judgment are distinct and summary judgment has a high threshold.
Evidence Within Civil Trials
Understand relevance as the primary filter, the credibility and tendency rules, hearsay and its exceptions (including the business records and contemporaneous statement exceptions), opinion and expert evidence (the basis rule and the code of conduct), privileges (client legal privilege, without-prejudice settlement privilege, public interest immunity), and the discretionary exclusions where probative value is outweighed by unfair prejudice or where evidence is improperly obtained.
Traps and Rule of Thumb
Questions often hide a procedural defect: a limitation period expiring, a failure to serve within time, or an affidavit that offends the rules. Watch for the difference between a pleading deficiency and an evidentiary gap. A useful rule of thumb: ask "what is the first procedural step that has gone wrong?" before analysing merits.
Worked example: A plaintiff files a statement of claim but serves it after the limitation period expires. The claim is not automatically dead - the defendant must plead the limitation defence, and the court may consider extension. Identify the defence, the onus, and the procedural vehicle.