Summons (Judicial Review) (Form 85)

Judicial review asks the Supreme Court to set aside or correct a decision because of legal error, not because the decision was wrong on the merits. Practice Note SC CL 3 says Part 59 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) applies to judicial review proceedings in the Supreme Court and that these matters, including proceedings under s 69 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 for error of law on the face of the record or jurisdictional error, go in the Administrative and Industrial Law List of the Common Law Division. Form 85 is the summons; it cites UCPR rr 6.2 and 59.4 and requires the grounds to be stated with specificity (r 59.4(c)). The Practice Note requires the tribunal, body or official to be made a party and served unless a statute says otherwise.

When you need it

• You say a tribunal, public official, government body or lower court made a jurisdictional error or an error of law on the face of the record.
• There is no statutory appeal that better fits your case (statutory appeals usually use Form 84 under Part 50).
• You want orders such as setting aside the decision and sending the matter back to be decided again.

1. 1

   Court details and heading

   Name the court, Common Law Division, and add the words Administrative Law List immediately under Common Law Division, as Practice Note SC CL 3 requires. Name the plaintiff and the defendants, including the decision-maker.

2. 2

   Proceedings being reviewed

   Give the title, the court, tribunal or other decision-maker, the case or file number, hearing dates, the material date and the name and designation of the decision-maker.

3. 3

   Type of claim and orders sought

   Select the type of claim from the UCPR forms website list and set out the orders sought.

4. 4

   Details of decision

   Identify the decision-maker and the terms of the decision under review, and say whether you seek relief from the whole decision or part of it.

5. 5

   Grounds

   State the grounds of review with specificity (r 59.4(c)). Practice Note SC CL 3 says any jurisdictional error should be identified as such, and for a no evidence ground, the finding said to be unsupported should be identified with particularity.

6. 6

   Certificates, signature and party details

   Complete the certificate choice and fee acknowledgement, sign, and complete the party details and addresses for service.

• File in the Supreme Court registry or online through the NSW Online Registry's Summons form, which accepts a document consistent with Form 85. The matter is entered in the Administrative and Industrial Law List on filing (Practice Note SC CL 3).
• Serve the summons on each defendant, including the tribunal, body or official. A decision-maker that files a submitting appearance (UCPR r 6.11) is excused from attending, according to Practice Note SC CL 3.
• For review limited to error on the face of the record, the Practice Note says the evidence should generally be limited to the record, which usually includes the reasons but not the evidence or transcript.
• A filing fee applies; check the Supreme Court's current fee schedule.

• Act promptly. Judicial review proceedings must be started within 3 months of the date of the decision, though the court may extend time (UCPR r 59.10); the rule does not apply where a statute sets its own limitation period. Statutory appeals under Part 50, for comparison, must be started within 28 days (r 50.3).
• Some decisions are reviewed by the Court of Appeal, not a single judge; the Online Registry lists a separate summons (Form 107) for the Court of Appeal's supervisory jurisdiction.
• Judicial review is about legal error. Grounds that only say the decision was unfair or wrong on the facts are unlikely to succeed.