Tasmania Minor Civil Claim Filing Fees

Filing fees are one of the first hard numbers you need before starting a claim in Tasmania's Magistrates Court, and the court's fee schedule is not the easiest document to read. Here's what you actually pay.

Current Filing Fees (1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027)

Tasmania's court fees are calculated from a fee unit that's adjusted every year. The current fee unit value is $1.96, published in the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) (Fees) Regulations 2018 and updated annually in the Tasmanian Government Gazette before 1 June.

For minor civil claims, the two tiers that matter:

A counterclaim (Form 5) costs $147.00 regardless of amount. A residential tenancy application under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 costs $78.40.

These fees are payable when you lodge your Form 1 at the registry. The registry won't accept your filing without payment — your claim isn't legally filed until the fee is paid or a waiver is granted.

What You Can Recover

If you win, the magistrate can order the other side to reimburse your filing fee. Under Section 31AF of the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Act 1992, minor civil claims have restricted cost recovery — you can generally recover filing fees and official process server fees, but not solicitor costs. A rare exception applies when the court formally permits legal representation and a lawyer conducts the trial. This is one reason the minor civil process is designed for self-represented parties.

You can also claim pre-judgment interest under Section 25 of the 1992 Act, but you need to request it explicitly on Form 1 with a daily rate calculation.

Hardship Fee Waivers

If the filing fee is a barrier, Section 39 of the 1992 Act allows you to apply for a fee reduction, remission or full waiver. You'll need to:

• Complete the official Fee Waiver Application form
• Provide supporting evidence — a valid Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or a detailed income and expenditure statement showing financial hardship
• Submit the application to the District Registrar at your local registry

Two things to know: the decision is at the registrar's discretion, and applying for a waiver doesn't extend any filing deadlines. If your limitation period is about to expire, file the application immediately — the six-year clock under the Limitation Act 1974 keeps running regardless.

Fee Traps to Avoid

Don't split your claim to pay the lower fee. Rule 27 of the 1998 Rules expressly prohibits splitting a single cause of action into multiple claims to stay within a fee tier or jurisdiction cap. If your claim is $7,000, you pay $284.20 — there's no legitimate way to split it into two $3,500 claims.

Do consider abandoning the excess. If your actual loss is, say, $17,000, you can abandon $2,000 under Rule 31 and file a $15,000 minor civil claim for $284.20. The trade-off: you permanently surrender the $2,000 excess. Whether that makes sense depends on whether avoiding the general civil process (which allows lawyers and formal evidence rules) is worth the write-off.

For the complete fee schedule, form-by-form filing instructions and a deadline calendar, see our Tasmania minor civil claim guide.

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