New South Wales Consolidated Acts

DISTRICT COURT ACT 1973 - SECT 44

44 Actions

(1) Subject to this Act, the Court has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of the following actions:

(a) any action of a kind:

(i) which, if brought in the Supreme Court, would be assigned to the Common Law Division of that Court, and

(ii) in which the amount (if any) claimed does not exceed the Court’s jurisdictional limit, whether on a balance of account or after an admitted set-off or otherwise,

other than an action referred to in paragraph (d) or (e),

(c) any action brought to recover an amount not exceeding $20,000, which is the whole or part of the unliquidated balance of a partnership account, or the amount or part of the amount of the distributive share under an intestacy or of a legacy under a will,

(d) any motor accident claim, irrespective of the amount claimed,

(d1) any work injury damages claim, irrespective of the amount claimed,

(e) any proceedings transferred to the Court under section 146 (1) of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 , irrespective of the amount (if any) claimed in those proceedings.

(2) Where the amount claimed in an action includes interest (being interest which the Court could, under section 100 (1) of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 , order to be included in the amount for which it could give judgment), that interest shall be disregarded for the purposes of:

(a) determining whether the maximum amount for which the action is authorised by this Act to be brought has been exceeded or not, and

(b) determining whether or not the Court has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of the action.

(3) Where:

(a) an amendment to subsection (1) which is enacted after, or was enacted before the commencement of Schedule 3 to the District Court (Procedure) Amendment Act 1984 has or had the effect of increasing the amount specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, and

(b) an action in which an amount of money is claimed is pending at the time when the amendment has effect or, as the case may be, an action in which an amount of money is claimed was pending at the time when the amendment had effect and has not been finally determined,

the Court may, on the application of the claimant, make an order altering the amount specified in the claim to an amount not exceeding that specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, as in force immediately after the amendment has or had effect.