Tasmania 21-Day Defence Deadline: How to Calculate Your Response Window

Where the 21 Days Start

Your deadline clock starts the calendar day after you were served — not the day the papers arrived. If a process server handed you the Claim and Notice to Defendant (Form 1) on a Monday, Day 1 is Tuesday.

For registered post, service is deemed effective on the date you signed the delivery confirmation card. That signature date is what counts, not when you actually read the documents.

How to Count the 21 Days

The count includes every calendar day: weekends, public holidays, all of them. There is one exception and one safety net.

The Christmas recess exception. The period from 23 December to 7 January inclusive is completely excluded from time calculations for filing a defence. If your 21-day window overlaps this period, those days do not count. Someone served on 15 December could have an effective window of around 35 calendar days.

The weekend/holiday safety net. If your 21st day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, Tasmanian public holiday, or a day the registry is closed, your deadline extends to 5:00 PM on the next business day the registry is open.

A Worked Example

You were served on Wednesday 4 March 2026 by personal service.

• Day 1: Thursday 5 March
• Day 21: Wednesday 25 March
• 25 March is a weekday and not a public holiday, so your deadline is 5:00 PM on Wednesday 25 March

If you were served on Wednesday 3 December 2025 instead:

• Day 1: Thursday 4 December
• Days 4–22 December = 19 days counted
• 23 December to 7 January excluded (zero days)
• Counting resumes 8 January: Day 20 is 8 January, Day 21 is 9 January
• Your deadline would be 5:00 PM on Friday 9 January 2026

What Happens If You Miss It

The claimant can file an Affidavit of Service (Form 3) and a Default Judgment Application (Form 21). If entered, default judgment is entered administratively by registry staff — no hearing, no chance to present your side. Once entered, enforcement actions (warrants, garnishee orders, wage attachments) can begin immediately.

There is a narrow window: if you manage to file your defence after the 21 days but before the registry formally processes and enters default judgment, the registry will generally accept the late filing.

Getting More Time

You can request an extension in two ways:

1. Consent extension. Ask the claimant (or their solicitor) in writing to agree to an extension, then lodge the written consent at the registry before the 21 days expire.
2. Court application. If the claimant refuses, file an Interlocutory Application (Form 8) asking a Magistrate to grant extra time. The filing fee is A$49.

Settlement discussions, phone calls, or emails asking for more time do not pause the clock. The countdown runs until a defence is filed or a formal extension is recorded.

Keep Your Proof

Retain the original envelope, postmark, and any delivery documentation. If there is ever a dispute about when you were served, these materials establish your actual service date and, by extension, your real deadline.

Our Responding to a Minor Civil Claim in Tasmania guide includes a deadline tracker worksheet that calculates your filing date from the service date and flags the Christmas recess automatically.

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