Summons for Oral Examination Victoria: Forms, Fees, and What to Expect

What an Oral Examination Does

An oral examination forces the judgment debtor to attend the Magistrates' Court and answer questions about their finances under oath. They must disclose their employer, income, bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, superannuation, debts, and any other assets — everything a creditor needs to decide which enforcement tool to use next.

You apply for this when you have a registered judgment but do not know enough about the debtor's financial position to choose between a Warrant to Seize Property, Attachment of Earnings, or Attachment of Debt. The examination is the intelligence-gathering step that precedes targeted enforcement.

How to Apply: Form 67A

The application uses Form 67A (Summons to Attend for Oral Examination), filed at the civil registry of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. You will need:

• A completed Form 67A naming the debtor and the court venue
• The court filing fee (check the current Magistrates' Court fee schedule — enforcement application fees are listed under civil enforcement)
• A blank Form 67B (for an individual debtor) or Form 67C (for a corporate officer) to include with the summons

Form 67B contains a standard set of questions the debtor must answer: employment details, bank account numbers and balances, whether they own real estate, what vehicles are registered in their name, other debts they owe, and their regular income and expenses. Form 67C asks equivalent questions about corporate finances — trading accounts, director loans, stock, equipment, and debtors.

Service Requirements

Form 67A must be personally served on the debtor at least 7 days before the examination date. Posting it or leaving it at their door is not sufficient.

Along with the summons and blank questionnaire, you must include conduct money — a cash sum or prepaid travel voucher sufficient to cover the debtor's reasonable public transport costs to and from the court venue. If you do not provide conduct money, the service is technically defective and the debtor has grounds to have the summons set aside.

After serving, the server must file an Affidavit of Service (Form 6A) with the court confirming when, where, and how the documents were handed over.

What Happens at the Examination

The examination is conducted by a court registrar, not a magistrate. The debtor is placed under oath or affirmation and works through the Form 67B or 67C questionnaire. The registrar records the answers and provides a transcript to the creditor.

You (or your representative) may attend, but the registrar controls the questioning. Direct cross-examination is limited — the registrar will intervene if questions become irrelevant or harassing. The purpose is financial disclosure, not a re-hearing of the original dispute.

Lying during an oral examination is a criminal offence. If you suspect the debtor has given false answers — they said they have no bank accounts but you know they received a payment last week — you can raise this with the court, though proving perjury requires independent evidence.

If the Debtor Does Not Attend

A debtor who has been properly served with Form 67A and conduct money but fails to attend without a reasonable medical excuse faces serious consequences. Under section 17 of the Judgment Debt Recovery Act 1984 (Vic), the court may issue a Warrant for Arrest to compel attendance. Victoria Police or Sheriff's officers execute the warrant and bring the debtor before the court.

This escalation path exists precisely because the oral examination has no value if debtors can ignore it. In practice, the arrest warrant is a last resort — courts usually adjourn and re-serve before issuing one.

Using the Results

The examination transcript tells you which enforcement tool fits the debtor's situation:

• Employed with steady wages → Attachment of Earnings (Form 72A)
• Money sitting in a bank account → Attachment of Debt / Garnishee Order (Form 71A or 71B)
• Owns personal property of value → Warrant to Seize Property (Form 68A)
• No attachable assets or income → consider an instalment order or, for debts of at least A$10,000, a bankruptcy notice

The VCAT Order Enforcement Guide includes an Oral Examination Prep Sheet that walks through each question on Form 67B, explains what the answers mean for your enforcement strategy, and includes a decision matrix for choosing your next step.

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