Step by step guide - Garnishee orders for debts

You will need two forms: 

• ​​​Form 69 - Notice of motion - garnishee order. 
• Form 70 - Garnishee order for debts. You don’t need this form if you are filing your application on the NSW Online Registry.

You can get a copy of the forms from:  

•  ​​the Local Court or
• the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules (UCPR) website.  

​The notice of motion has an affidavit attached. 

​You can file the Notice of motion garnishee order (Form 69) online using the NSW Online Registry​. 

You can fill out your form:

• ​by completing it on your computer
  
• by printing the form and completing it in blue or black pen.
  

Complete the Notice of motion form

To fill out the notice of motion form you will need to have the following information ready: 

• ​​Your case number. You will find this on your stamped copy of the statement of claim. 
  
• Date of the judgment. 
  
• Name of the other party.  
  
• Name of the proposed garnishee (the bank or third party who owes the other party money).
  
• How you know the garnishee is holding money owed to the judgment debtor.
  
• Total amount of the judgment.
  
• Garnishee's address. 
  
• Enforcement costs you have paid since the date of judgment. 
  
• If you are claiming interest, the amount of interest on the judgment debt since the day after the judgment was made by the court to the date you sign the notice of motion. 
  
• Service fee for the garnishee order (only if you intend to pay a process server to serve the garnishee order). 
  
• Other party's bank account details, if relevant. 
  
• Details of earlier instalment order, if any. 
  

When have completed the notice of motion form, you need to swear or affirm the affidavit section in front of an approved witness, a lawyer or Justice of the Peace (JP).

For more information about where to find a Justice of the Peace, see Finding a JP on the Department of Communities & Justice website.

The affidavit in support must be signed and witnessed on each page no more than 14 days before the date you file the notice of motion. 

Complete the Garnishee order for debts form

To fill out the garnishee order form you will need to have the following information ready: 

• ​​​Your case number.
  
• Date of the judgment. 
  
• Name and address of the other party.  
  
• Name and address of the garnishee (the bank or third party who owes the other party money). 
  
• Total amount of the judgment. 
• Your contact details including address, telephone, fax and email. 

Instructions: 

Instructions - Notice of motion - garnishee order for debts​

Instructions - garnishee order for debts​

Samples:

Sample Notice of motion - ​garnishee order for debts​

Sample garnishee order for debts​

You can file the form on the NSW Online Registry or the Local Court. If you are filing the forms at the Local Court, you can take or send the forms to the same Local Court where the statement of claim was filed. 

You should file an original and two extra copies of the forms. There is no filing fee.  

Send a sealed (stamped) copy of the garnishee order to the garnishee (for example, the other party's bank). You do not have to give a copy to the judgment debtor.

If you are serving a garnishee order on a bank, you should contact the bank to find out their address for service of legal documents. This address is different to the branch address. 

The bank or person holding money on behalf of the other party, such as a real estate agent must pay you any funds they hold that are greater than the minimum balance.

The other party must be left with the minimum balance, which is currently $587.50 per week (as at 1 April 2024). To check the current weekly compensation amount, see Garnishee amounts on the Local Court website.

If the other party's bank account has a balance of less than the minimum balance plus $20.00, the bank does not have to comply with the order.

If the money in the other party's account does not cover the whole judgment debt, you can apply for another garnishee order. 

Once paying you, the garnishee ​is allowed to deduct up to $13.00 for administration expenses. This doesn't come out of the money owed to you. 

If the other party receives a government pension or benefit, all or part of the money in their bank account may be protected from the garnishee order. 

Often the other party is not aware of the garnishee order until the money has been taken out of their bank account. The other party may apply to the court to pay by instalments. 

For more information, see Being paid in instalments, in After court.