Garnishee Order NSW: How to Redirect a Debtor's Wages or Bank Funds

You won your case, registered the judgment in the Local Court, and the debtor still hasn't paid. A garnishee order lets you bypass the debtor entirely — the court directs their employer or bank to send money straight to you.

NSW has two types of garnishee order under the Civil Procedure Act 2005, and picking the wrong one wastes time and any service costs. Here's how each works.

Garnishee Order for Wages (UCPR Form 71)

A wage garnishee attaches to the debtor's pay packet. You apply by UCPR Form 69, a Notice of Motion, and the court may issue a wage garnishee order in Form 71. The employer then deducts a portion of each pay cycle and sends it to you until the debt is cleared.

This is continuous — it keeps deducting every pay period, unlike a bank garnishee which is a one-time grab.

Protected Earnings Amount (PEA): The employer cannot reduce the debtor's net pay below the statutory floor under s 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005:

• Weekly: $626.10 net
• Fortnightly: $1,252.20 net
• Monthly: $2,713.10 net

These thresholds are tied to the weekly compensation amount under s 37 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The $626.10 weekly amount was current as at 1 April 2026 and is next indexed on 1 April 2027. The employer also retains up to $13.00 per pay cycle as an administrative processing fee.

When to use it: You know who employs the debtor. A wage garnishee is the most reliable enforcement tool because it generates steady repayments without you doing anything after the order is served.

Garnishee Order for Debts — Bank Accounts (UCPR Form 70)

A bank garnishee freezes and redirects funds sitting in the debtor's account at the moment of service. You apply by UCPR Form 69, naming the financial institution; if granted, the court issues the bank debt order in Form 70.

The critical difference: Form 70 captures only what's in the account when the order is served. It does not attach to future deposits. If the debtor's account holds $800 and your judgment is $5,000, you get $800 minus the statutory minimum balance the bank must leave (under s 118A of the Civil Procedure Act 2005).

When to use it: You know the debtor's bank and BSB. Works best when you expect a lump sum to be sitting in the account — after a tax refund, for instance, or the sale of goods.

Filing and Service

Both garnishee orders are filed at the Local Court registry where your judgment is registered. You can lodge them through the NSW Online Registry or in person. Once the court issues the order, you serve it on the garnishee (the employer or bank), not on the debtor — though the debtor is entitled to notice.

If the employer or bank fails to comply without filing a formal dispute, you can apply under s 124 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 for an order enforcing payment directly against the garnishee entity itself.

What Garnishees Cannot Touch

Some amounts in a bank account are protected by specific rules:

• Social security payments: section 62 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) protects the saved amount in the account: social security payments credited during the four weeks immediately before the order, minus withdrawals during that period.
• Joint accounts cannot be garnished to satisfy a debt owed by only one account holder
• Child support payments are not covered by the saved-amount protection in s 62 merely because they are child support.

Practical Considerations

A garnishee order is often the second enforcement step after an examination (UCPR Forms 51–54), because the examination is how you discover the debtor's employer or bank details. Jumping straight to a garnishee without confirmed details means the order might land on the wrong institution — and any paid service fee is wasted.

If the debtor earns close to the PEA threshold, the deductions will be small. Run the numbers before filing: a $15,000 judgment against a debtor earning $700 net per week yields roughly $73.90 per week, which takes about 203 weeks — nearly four years — to clear (before interest).

For the full enforcement sequence from NCAT certification to case closure, the NSW NCAT Order Enforcement Guide walks through every form, fee, and decision point in order.

See more New South Wales guides →