What is the ‘Add or Change Party or Associations’ option?

Add or Change Party or Associations allow you to file a document that adds or changes a party or the practitioner associated with an existing case.

This includes adding counterclaim party types. You can file the following documents via the below functions.

What information can’t be changed using Add or Change Party?

You cannot modify some case information using Add or Change Party. Except by order of the court, you cannot change:

• case type
• court location.

In addition, you cannot delete parties.

Should I append suffixes to the plaintiff or defendant surname or organisation name?

You don’t need to manually add name suffix information to the surname or organisation name fields. When changing party details for a plaintiff or defendant, extra fields will display which allow you to provide:

• ABN
• alias
• former name
• former trading name
• litigation guardian
• as executor of the estate of
• as administrator of
• as trustee of.

What do I do if documents are Pending?

Extra court processing is required if two solicitors on a case try to change an association with the same party at the same time. For example, one solicitor may try to file a Solicitor Ceasing to Act, while another solicitor files a Change of Practitioner, on the same party.

To minimise these problems, the system will notify you if documents that change party associations are already pending on the case. These documents include:

• Notice of Solicitor Acting
• Notice of Change of Practitioner
• Notice of Solicitor Ceasing to Act.

Once the Court finishes processing the ‘pending’ document, you can reassess what document, if any, you now need to file.

What information do I need when lodging documents that add my solicitor’s firm to a case?

To associate your firm to a case, you must:

• select and upload the appropriate document
• indicate which new/additional case party you’re associated with/representing.

The system will enforce some Court rules, including:

• When lodging a Notice of Appearance filed or Notice of Appearance Expedited Serious Injury List, you must associate yourself with at least one defendant.
• When lodging a Notice of Appearance Counterclaim filed, you must associate yourself with at least one counterclaim plaintiff party or counterclaim defendant.
• When lodging a Third Party Appearance filed, you must associate yourself with at least one third party.
• When lodging a Notice of Solicitor Acting filed, you must associate yourself with at least one plaintiff or defendant (whoever is not currently being represented by a solicitor).
• When lodging a Change of Practitioner, you must associate yourself with at least one party that is currently being represented by another solicitor. The system will only display ‘Associate Me’ beside parties that meet this criterion.

How do I file a Solicitor Ceasing to Act?

When you select the Solicitor Ceasing to Act document type, ‘Remove Association’ will display beside parties on the case that you’re currently representing. Click ‘Remove Association’ for each party that is cited in the document, who you’re no longer representing.

Once you click ‘Remove Association’, these parties will automatically be added to the ‘Filed on Behalf of’ list. Click ‘Undo Change’ if you want to deselect this party (for example, if you’ve selected the wrong party).

When lodging a Solicitor Ceasing to Act, you must remove your association with the relevant party/parties on the case.

Do I have to click every ‘Associate Me’ button?

No, you’ll need to indicate at least one association change for some documents when you choose a document to file. The system determines what party association changes are possible for that document type, and displays ‘Associate Me’ next to eligible parties.

Select ‘Associate Me’ for parties referenced in the document that you’re uploading. However, for Amendment documents, you should only click ‘Associate Me’ if your document includes newly associated parties.

When you click ‘Associate Me’, the party will appear in the ‘Filed on Behalf of’ list of parties. You can only remove these parties from the list if you click ‘Undo Change’ for that party.

Why can’t I associate myself to a party?

When you’re filing a document related to new representation, you may find that no parties display an ‘Associate Me’ button. This could be because you haven’t added that party to the case.

If the party is missing, or you’re filing a Counterclaim and the right Counterclaim party type is not listed:

1. Return to the ‘Case Party’ tab.
2. Add the missing parties before you file the document.

If you’re trying to file a Notice of Change of Practitioner and ‘Associate Me’ doesn’t appear next to the party you’re representing, this could be because a Solicitor Ceasing to Act has been filed and accepted. If this is the case, consider if you need a Notice of Solicitor Acting instead.

How can I update the Email Address for Service?

When filing one of the following documents, you’ll have an option to update the Email Address for Service for your parties:

• Amended Writ (2AMW)
• Amended Originating motion (2AOM)
• Notice of Appearance – Instruments Act (2NOAI)
• Notice of Appearance Expedited Serious Injury List (2NOAX)
• Notice of Appearance (2NOA)
• Notice of Appearance Counterclaim (2CNA)
• Notice of Third Party Appearance (2TNA)
• Notice of Change of Practitioner (2CHP)
• Notice Solicitor Acting (2NSA).

If you update your Email Address for Service in this way, you won’t need to file a separate Change of Email Address for Service document. You only need to file a Change of Email Address for Service if that is the only change of which you need to notify the Court.

Why do I have to provide an Email Address for Service?

The Email Address for Service passes into the court system electronically for faster, more reliable access by registry staff.

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to provide an Email Address for Service when you start representing a party on a case. This requirement applies unless you have leave from the Court not to provide Email Address for Service details on your document.

You need an Email Address for Service when you file one of the following documents:

• Notice of Appearance – Instruments Act (2NOAI)
• Notice of Appearance Expedited Serious Injury List (2NOAX)
• Notice of Appearance (2NOA)
• Notice of Appearance Counterclaim (2CNA)
• Notice of Third Party Appearance (2TNA)
• Notice of Change of Practitioner (2CHP)
• Notice Solicitor Acting (2NSA).

If you’ve already provided an Email Address for Service for your parties on a case, the system presumes that you don’t have leave to omit the Email Address for Service. In this instance, you can change the Email Address for Service, but not remove it.

What Email Address for Service do I provide if I’m filing a Solicitor Ceasing to Act?

When filing a Solicitor Ceasing to Act, you can provide an alternative Email Address for Service for the party you are ceasing to act for. If you don’t know their new Email Address for Service, you may leave this field blank, and your email address will no longer apply to party.

Do any charges apply for editing case details?

Charges only apply when a document is successfully lodged with the court.

How will the court fee be determined for an Add or change party document?

Refer to County Court of Victoria eFiling overview for more information.

Do changes to case details take effect immediately?

Where the lodged document needs review by the court, the filing will remain in a ‘Pending’ status until the review is complete. Once the filing is accepted, the document and case details will be recorded in the County Court of Victoria database.

If the filed document doesn’t need review, the case details and document file immediately.

Our Customer Service Centre is here to help you between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Phone	1800 773 773
Email	confirm@citec.com.au