Subpoena - Family Law

This form is used by a party to ask the Courts to issue a subpoena. A subpoena is a legal document issued by the Courts.

A subpoena can issue to ask a person to:

• Produce documents
• Give evidence
• Produce documents and give evidence.

It is important to read the Notes on pages 4-6 of the Subpoena - Family Law form before you complete it.

Filing with the Court

Leave may be required to file a Subpoena in family law proceedings. For more information see the Leave requirements for subpoenas in family law proceedings flowchart.

This form must be filed at the Court location where the matter is being heard.

Requests for Subpoena – Family Law for production of documents only, on initiating applications where final orders have been requested, should be eFiled using the Commonwealth Courts Portal. For step-by-step guide, see How do I eFile?.

If your request is for a subpoena for attendance to give evidence, or attendance to give evidence and produce documents, you should file by email. For a list of the filing email addresses and postal addresses see Court locations.

For more information about requesting the issue of a subpoena, see Subpoena: Information for a person requesting the issue of a subpoena. 

Service

Once issued by the Court, the Subpoena must be served on each other party, any interested person and any independent children’s lawyer in the proceeding. Details about the service requirements are included in Notes 7-13 of the form.

For more information about service in family law proceeding see How do I serve family law documents?.

Legal advice

To understand your legal rights and responsibilities you should obtain legal advice. A lawyer can explain how the law applies to your case and assist you to complete forms and lodge documents. The Court is unable to provide legal advice because to do so would seriously compromise its ability to impartially determine your case. There are several free services available. For more information see: Family law – Find a lawyer