You have been told the matter is "listed for directions" and nobody has explained what that means.
A realistic picture of the room, the vocabulary, and a short list of what to prepare and what to write down.
A NSW civil litigation solicitor.
This page describes general practice in NSW civil courts. The Local, District and Supreme Courts, and the different lists within them, each have their own rules and practice notes, and federal courts differ again. Your orders, the court's rules and practice notes govern, and the registry can tell you how they are applied. Where this page and they disagree, they win.
What a directions hearing is for
Civil courts in NSW manage cases actively. The Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) says the overriding purpose is the just, quick and cheap resolution of the real issues, and the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), Part 2 give the court power to make directions about how the case proceeds. A directions hearing is the meeting where those directions are made.
Typical business of a directions hearing:
- Setting a timetable: when pleadings, evidence, discovery or submissions are due.
- Checking whether earlier directions were complied with, and what to do if they were not.
- Deciding whether the matter should go to mediation or another form of resolution.
- Listing the next step: another directions hearing, a hearing of an application, or a final hearing.
- Dealing with short procedural requests, such as an extension of time.
A directions hearing is usually about case management, not the merits. You are not normally there to prove your case, but be ready to address any application listed with it and to speak to the real issues if asked; UCPR rule 2.3 lets the court give directions about them. You are there to agree, or to have decided, what happens next and by when.
Registrar's list or judge's list
Directions are often dealt with by a registrar, a court officer with power to make many procedural orders, rather than a judge. Registrar's lists are usually longer, faster and less formal. Some matters, some lists and some kinds of orders go before a judge, and a registrar can refer a matter to a judge if it needs one.
Practical differences:
- A registrar's list may have dozens of matters called in an hour. Yours may take three minutes. Be ready to say what you need in two sentences.
- A registrar will usually make orders the parties agree on and set the next date. Contested or significant questions may be referred to a judge or listed for a separate hearing.
- You address a registrar as "Registrar". You address a judge as "your Honour". Nobody is offended by respectful uncertainty; if you get it wrong once, correct yourself and move on.
- In some lists, routine directions are dealt with through the NSW Online Registry and Online Court without anyone attending, where the court directs it for that list. Check the court's instructions for your list.
The Supreme Court publishes practice notes for each list that describe how directions are managed there. The District and Local Courts publish their own. Read the one for your list before the first appearance.
Before the list
- Find out what the court expects you to have done. Some lists require the parties to confer and send proposed orders, or short minutes, before the hearing.
- If the other side sends proposed orders or a proposed timetable, read every line. Note what you can accept and what you cannot, and why.
- Write your own proposed timetable. Be realistic about how long you actually need and say so. Courts prefer a date you will meet to a date you will miss.
- Prepare the one-page script: what the hearing is for, what you are asking for, what you can agree to, what you want time to consider.
- Arrive early. Check the daily list for the courtroom and your matter's position. Tell the court officer at the door that you are appearing in person and give your name and the matter number.