How to Enforce a Judgment Against a Company in Western Australia

Enforcing a judgment against a company in Western Australia uses the same Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004 tools as enforcement against an individual — but several of those tools work differently when the debtor is a corporation, and one key tool is off the table entirely.

What Changes When the Debtor Is a Company

No Earnings Appropriation Orders. An EAO attaches to employment wages, and a company does not earn wages. If the corporate debtor owes money to employees or contractors, the flow is reversed — but you cannot garnish a company's own "earnings" the way you can with an individual. Wage garnishment is only available against natural persons.

Means Inquiry examines a company officer, not the company. A company cannot appear in person at a court hearing. Under the CJEA, when the judgment debtor is a corporation, you summon a current or former company officer — typically a director or secretary — to attend and produce financial information. You use CJE Form 24 (Application for Enforcement Order Against Third Person) to summon the officer. They must bring the company's financial records: bank statements, accounts receivable, asset registers, and any outstanding debts owed to the company.

Service goes to the registered office. Personal service on a company means serving documents at the company's registered office address or on a director. Check the ASIC register for the current registered office — companies that have gone quiet often have a stale address.

The Two Main Tools for Corporate Debtors

Debt Appropriation Order. This is usually the most effective tool against a company that is still operating. A DAO served on the company's bank freezes whatever funds are in the account at the moment of service and directs the bank to pay those funds to you. The key is knowing which bank the company uses — a means inquiry of the company officer gets you the account details.

You can also serve a DAO on a third party that owes money to the company. If the corporate debtor has outstanding invoices from its own customers, a DAO can redirect those payments to you instead.

Property (Seizure and Sale) Order. A PSSO targets the company's physical assets — inventory, equipment, vehicles, office furniture. The bailiff attends the company's premises, inventories unencumbered goods, and seizes them for public auction. The $269 application fee applies, plus bailiff commission on the recovery.

For a company that owns real property (a warehouse, shopfront, or land), you can register the PSSO at Landgate to create a 4-month bound period that prevents the company from selling or mortgaging the property to dodge payment.

Directors Are Not Automatically Liable

A judgment against a company does not automatically make its directors personally liable. To enforce against a director personally, you need a separate legal basis and a judgment against that director.

What you can do is examine a director under oath through the means inquiry process to find out what the company owns. The director's obligation is to answer questions about the company's finances, not to pay the judgment from their own pocket.

When the Company Is Insolvent

If the company enters voluntary administration or liquidation under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), enforcement stops automatically. Sections 440D and 471B stay all civil enforcement against company property from the moment an administrator or liquidator is appointed.

When this happens, you must:

1. Stop all enforcement steps immediately
2. Lodge a formal Proof of Debt with the appointed administrator or liquidator
3. Wait for the insolvency process to distribute whatever assets exist among creditors in statutory priority order

Secured creditors (banks with registered charges) get paid first. Unsecured judgment creditors like you join the general pool. Recovery from an insolvent company is often cents on the dollar, but skipping the Proof of Debt means you get nothing at all.

Checking Company Status Before Enforcing

Before spending money on enforcement, run an ASIC company search. Check:

• Is the company still registered? A deregistered company does not exist as a legal entity.
• Is the company in administration or liquidation? If so, enforcement against company property is stayed under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
• Who are the current directors? You need a director's name to summon for a means inquiry.
• What is the registered office address? This is where you serve documents.

The complete WA judgment enforcement guide covers the full sequence for both individual and corporate debtors, including a decision map that helps you pick the right enforcement tool based on what you find.

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