How to Set Aside a Default Judgment in Tasmania

What a Default Judgment Means

If you were served with a minor civil claim and did not file a defence within 21 calendar days, the claimant can apply for default judgment. This is entered administratively — no hearing, no Magistrate reviewing the merits. Once recorded, you are a judgment debtor. The claimant can immediately begin enforcement: warrants to sell property, bank account garnishee orders, and wage attachment orders.

Default judgments also appear on credit reports and can remain on your file for up to five years.

The Application: Form 8

To set aside a default judgment, you file an Interlocutory Application (Form 8) at the court registry where the judgment was entered. The application fee is A$49.

Your Form 8 must be supported by a sworn Affidavit (Form 27), prepared before a Justice of the Peace or legal practitioner. The affidavit is where you make your case for why the judgment should be reversed.

The Three-Part Test

The Magistrate evaluating your application looks for three things:

1. A reasonable explanation for the default. Why did you not file within 21 days? Acceptable reasons include: you were not personally served and did not know about the claim, you experienced a medical emergency, you were overseas and the papers did not reach you, or there was genuine confusion about the deadline. "I was busy" or "I didn't think it was important" are unlikely to succeed.

2. A defence on the merits. You must show a plausible defence — specific facts that, if proven at trial, could lead to a different result. Mere denials ("I don't owe the money") are not enough. You need to explain why the claim is wrong: the work was defective, the goods were not as described, you already paid, or the amount is incorrect.

3. No irreparable prejudice to the claimant. Setting aside the judgment must not cause the claimant harm beyond normal delay. If months have passed and evidence has been lost, this factor works against you. Moving quickly after discovering the judgment strengthens your position.

Enforcement Does Not Automatically Stop

Filing Form 8 does not pause enforcement. If a bailiff is executing a warrant or your bank account has been frozen under a garnishee order, those actions continue even while your application is pending.

To freeze enforcement, you must explicitly request an urgent Stay of Execution within your Form 8 application. Ask the registry listing clerk to schedule an expedited hearing before a Magistrate on the stay request.

The Narrow Window Before Judgment Is Entered

There is a practical gap between the 21-day deadline expiring and the registry actually processing the default judgment application. If you file your defence in that gap — after the deadline but before default judgment is formally entered — the registry will generally accept the late defence. This is not a strategy to rely on, but it is worth knowing if you are a day or two late.

After the Judgment Is Set Aside

If the Magistrate grants your application, the default judgment is cancelled and you are given leave to file a defence. The matter then proceeds through the normal path: conciliation conference, and if unresolved, a hearing. You will need to file your defence promptly — the Magistrate typically sets a specific deadline in the order.

Our Responding to a Minor Civil Claim in Tasmania guide covers default judgment prevention with a deadline tracker and explains the set-aside process step by step, including what to include in your Form 27 affidavit.

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