Debt Appropriation Order WA: How to Garnish a Bank Account After a Judgment

When you know the judgment debtor has money sitting in a bank account, a Debt Appropriation Order is the fastest way to intercept it. Unlike wage garnishment, there is no prerequisite sequence of instalment orders and defaults. If you can identify the bank and the account, you can apply.

What a DAO Targets

A Debt Appropriation Order under section 46 of the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004 targets debts owed by a third party (the "garnishee") to the judgment debtor. The most common use is garnishing a debtor's bank account — the bank owes the debtor the balance in their account, so a DAO intercepts that debt.

But DAOs reach beyond bank accounts. They can target:

• Business accounts held at any financial institution
• Debts owed to the debtor by a customer, client or trade creditor
• Rent owed by a tenant to a debtor who is a landlord
• Any quantifiable, present debt owed to the debtor by a third party

How the Garnishment Works

You apply using CJE Form 6 through the eCourts Portal. If the process requires a separate enforcement order against a third person, CJE Form 24 is the third-person application. The bailiff service fee is $85.50 (non-personal service, since DAOs are served on the bank or third party, not on the debtor personally).

Once the DAO is served on the bank, the bank freezes the account. The critical detail: a DAO captures only the funds standing in the account at the exact moment of service. It acts as a snapshot, not a continuous drain. If the debtor has $3,200 in the account when the order is served, that is what you get (minus the bank's admin fee). Future deposits are not automatically caught unless the court specifically orders ongoing garnishment for recurring debt streams.

The bank deducts a statutory administrative fee: $10 for the first payment and $5 for subsequent payments. The remaining balance is remitted to the judgment creditor.

What a DAO Cannot Reach

Several types of funds are off-limits:

• Joint accounts where the debtor shares the account with a non-debtor (such as a spouse) — the debt is not owed exclusively to the judgment debtor
• Trust accounts or retention accounts held on behalf of third parties
• Overdraft facilities — an overdraft is credit extended by the bank, not a debt the bank owes to the customer
• Commonwealth social security payments — under section 62 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, the "saved amount" of qualifying payments credited to an account during the four weeks immediately before a garnishee order comes into force is protected, after subtracting withdrawals during that period. The full account balance is not automatically exempt.

If the Bank Disputes the Order

When a bank or third party disagrees that the funds belong to the debtor, or claims they hold the money on trust, the dispute follows a formal path:

1. The third party files CJE Form 20 (Notice of Objection)
2. You can accept the objection (CJE Form 21) or contest it (CJE Form 22 or Form 24)
3. If contested, a Magistrate determines the dispute

DAO vs EAO: When to Use Which

If the debtor is employed and you know their employer, an Earnings Appropriation Order creates a continuous deduction from every pay cycle — but it requires a prior instalment order breach. A DAO is a one-time freeze that does not need any prerequisite enforcement steps. For corporate debtors (where wage garnishment does not apply), a DAO targeting the company's bank accounts is often the primary tool.

The timing of service matters. Serving the DAO the day after the debtor's pay hits their account captures more than serving it three days before payday. If you have learned the debtor's pay schedule through a means inquiry, time your service accordingly.

The WA Judgment Enforcement Guide covers DAOs alongside every other enforcement mechanism, including how to handle bank objections and when to combine a DAO with other tools.

See more Western Australia guides →