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An affidavit of service is a document provided by the process server that states the pertinent facts of the service including name of recipient, date and time of service and name of process server who served the documents. It will also state the case number and the court where the matter is being heard. In the case of a non-service, an affidavit of service attempts (our due diligence) can be provided, which outlines all the steps taken to effect service.

Determining whether an affidavit of service is required is up to issuer of the documents. As a rule of thumb you usually need an affidavit of service for family and high court proceedings, and some civil court proceedings.  Property Law Act notices do not always require an affidavit, nor Statutory Demands.  But again, this is completely at the discretion of the issuer.

The good news is, if you decide at a later date that you do need an affidavit of service, we have all the service details stored in our serve management system, so this can be done at any stage.

We have an expert our in-house admin team who can professionally prepare your affidavit of service to meet your legal requirements – and save you time.

Yes, we have resources that we can use to make enquires to locate a home or work address for a person. The course of action we take will depend on the information we have to start with.

It doesn't happen very often, but there are the odd instances where a person decides that they do not want to be served. In these cases it helps to have a photo of the recipient. Even if they refuse service, as long as we can identify them, we can still serve them by placing the document at their feet and bringing it to their attention.

If we are unable to locate a person or they actively avoid being served, i.e. refuse to open the door at home, then other types of service may need to be considered.

One option may be to apply to the court for an order for service by another means. This is known as substituted service and can include service by email, social medial, or by delivering the documents to another family member. In most cases this is completed by the lawyer managing the case, or it can be done by the applicant in the case of a dissolution of marriage.

If you are considering engaging a process server, you want to know that they will keep a thorough history of all service attempts – in the event that an application for substituted service is required. And even better, if they can prepare this information for you, this will make the application for substituted service straight forward.

Once we receive a job we get it loaded into our serve management system and out for service with our team. The first attempt is usually within the first 24-48 hours, and service is in many cases effected after one or two attempts.  There are a variety of reasons why it may take longer. The person may be away on holiday, they may not be at home very often i.e., staying with a partner, they may also be purposefully avoiding service. In this case we may need to look at some other options to effect service. We have a policy of keeping you informed every step of the way, and if any issues do arise, we can agree on the best course of action.