Garnishee Order and Charging Order NZ — Two Enforcement Tools Most Creditors Miss

Most creditors enforcing a Disputes Tribunal order jump straight to an attachment order on wages or a warrant to seize property. Those are the tools the Ministry of Justice pages lead with, and they work well when the debtor has a steady job or obvious personal property. But two other enforcement mechanisms — garnishee orders and charging orders — target assets that wage deductions and bailiff visits can't touch: money sitting in a bank account and equity locked in real estate.

Both cost NZ$345 to apply for. Both run through the District Court, not the Tribunal. And both require you to know something specific about the debtor's finances before you file.

Garnishee Orders — Intercepting Money Before It Reaches the Debtor

A garnishee order lets you redirect money that a third party (called the "sub-debtor") owes to your debtor. The most common target is a bank account, but it can also attach to money owed by a commercial client, a business partner, or anyone else who holds funds payable to the debtor.

The process runs in two stages under Sections 180 to 183 of the District Court Act 2016 and Rules 19.70 to 19.88 of the District Court Rules 2014.

Stage 1 — Order Nisi. You file a Garnishee Application (DC Rules Form 70) with the NZ$345 fee. The court issues an interim order served on both the sub-debtor (the bank) and the debtor. This freezes the specified funds up to the judgment amount.

Stage 2 — Order Absolute. If the sub-debtor doesn't dispute the debt within the prescribed time, the court converts the interim order into a final order. The bank then pays the frozen funds directly to you or into court.

There's a critical timing detail most guides gloss over: the order only attaches to funds standing to the credit of the debtor at the exact moment the Order Nisi is served on the bank branch. It does not catch future deposits, overdraft facilities, or term deposits that haven't matured. If you serve the order on a Tuesday and the debtor's pay arrives on Wednesday, you get whatever was in the account on Tuesday — nothing more.

Joint accounts add another complication. A garnishee order can't attach to a joint account unless the judgment debt is held jointly against all account holders. Even when the debtor is the sole judgment debtor, money in a joint account with a spouse or partner is generally out of reach.

Charging Orders — Securing Your Debt Against Property

A charging order registers your judgment debt against a debtor's real property — their house, land, or any other title registered with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). It doesn't force an immediate sale, but it means the debtor can't sell or refinance the property without paying you first.

You apply using DC Rules Form 49 with the NZ$345 fee. A District Court Judge (not a Registrar) hears the application. To file, you need the debtor's property details — specifically the LINZ title reference, which you can search for about NZ$6 per record on the LINZ Title Register.

A charging order makes the most sense when the debtor has equity in property but limited income or moveable assets. It secures the debt against the title, but does not guarantee payment; recovery depends on there being enough equity and the property eventually being sold or refinanced. If you're enforcing a judgment of a few thousand dollars against someone who owns a house worth several hundred thousand, the debt may sit there for years.

One limitation: if the property is already heavily mortgaged (the bank's security interest takes priority), there may be no equity left for your charge to attach to. Check for existing mortgages in the LINZ search before paying the NZ$345 filing fee.

When to Use Which Tool

Garnishee order if:

• You know the debtor holds a bank account with funds (or you know a commercial client owes them money)
• The debtor is self-employed or has irregular income that makes wage attachment impractical
• You want a one-off recovery rather than ongoing deductions

Charging order if:

• The debtor owns real property with equity
• Other enforcement tools haven't produced results (no wages to attach, no seizable personal property)
• You're willing to wait for the debt to be paid when the property eventually sells

Neither tool if:

• You don't know the debtor's bank details or property holdings — start with a financial assessment hearing to compel disclosure
• The debtor has no attachable assets at all — consider whether the No Asset Procedure means recovery is unlikely

Filing Both Applications

Both applications go to the District Court Collections Unit, not the Disputes Tribunal. You can file through the File and Pay online portal, at any District Court counter, or by post. The NZ$345 fee gets added to the total debt balance the debtor owes you.

If your Disputes Tribunal order has been sitting unpaid and simpler tools haven't worked, garnishee and charging orders let you reach assets that are otherwise untouchable. The complete enforcement guide walks through each tool with the exact forms, fee receipts, and decision framework for choosing the right sequence.

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