Affidavit (Form 46)

Rule 431 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) says an affidavit must be in the approved form, and Form 46 is that form (the current Word version is Version 3, approved on 12 May 2025). An affidavit must be made in the first person, describe the person making it and give their residential or business address or place of employment, be divided into consecutively numbered paragraphs, and have every page numbered (r 431). It should be confined to evidence the person could give if they were giving evidence orally, although an affidavit for an application other than for final relief may include information and belief if the sources and grounds are stated (r 430). Rule 432 sets out how it is signed and what the jurat must say.

When you need it

• You need to give written evidence in support of, or in opposition to, an application in a proceeding in the Supreme, District or Magistrates Courts of Queensland.
• You are the applicant on an originating application (Form 5) and need to file the affidavits listed in the application.
• You are filing material for a consent order of the registrar and an affidavit is needed to explain the order (Supreme Court Practice Direction 11 of 2023, para 8(c)).
• Check first whether a more specific affidavit form exists for your step. For example, Queensland Courts publishes separate affidavit forms for probate applications (such as Form 105).

1. 1

   Fill in the heading

   Choose the court (Supreme, District or Magistrates), then add the registry, proceeding number and the parties exactly as they appear on the originating document. If the proceeding started by originating application, use Applicant and Respondent instead of Plaintiff and Defendant (form notes 1 and 2).

2. 2

   Identify the person making the affidavit

   Insert the full name of the deponent, their residential or business address or place of employment, and their occupation or another description, then keep either 'states on oath' (sworn) or 'solemnly and sincerely affirms and declares' (affirmed).

3. 3

   Write the body in numbered paragraphs

   Write in the first person, one topic per paragraph as far as possible (r 431). Refer to each exhibit by its mark, for example 'Exhibit JS-1 to this affidavit is a copy of the contract', and attach a Form 47 certificate of exhibit for each exhibit or exhibit book (r 435).

4. 4

   Sign every page

   The deponent (or substitute signatory) and the witness must sign each page (r 432(1)). The form provides a page footer for this on every page except the last.

5. 5

   Complete the jurat

   At the end, state the deponent's full name, whether the affidavit was sworn or affirmed, and the day and place it was made, which is where the deponent was located at the time (r 432(3) and (6)). Tick the boxes if the affidavit was made as an electronic document, electronically signed, or made, signed and witnessed by audio visual link under part 6A of the Oaths Act 1867.

6. 6

   Complete the witness details

   The witness inserts their full name, the capacity that makes them eligible to witness (for example lawyer, justice of the peace or commissioner for declarations) and the contact detail the form's note 8 asks for, then signs and dates. If the witness is certifying that the affidavit was read to a deponent who could not read it, or who could not sign it, they tick the rule 433 box.

7. 7

   Delete the instructions

   The form says its footnotes are there to help you complete it and should be deleted once it is complete. Fill in the back-sheet details: who the affidavit is filed on behalf of, and the filer's name, address and contact details (r 431(2)).

• File the affidavit in the registry where the proceeding is, and file any exhibits at the same time (r 435(8)).
• For an originating application, the applicant's affidavits must be filed and then served on each respondent at least 3 business days before the hearing day, unless the court gives leave (r 28).
• In the Supreme and District Courts, a sworn or affirmed document filed electronically must be a PDF, preferably text searchable. Affidavits can be lodged electronically in some proceedings, for example consent order applications by email and claim proceedings in the Supreme Court at Brisbane through the Queensland Courts and Tribunals Online Services Portal (Principal Registrar Approval 1 of 2025).
• Serve a copy on each other party before any hearing where you intend to rely on it, within any time limit in the rules or set by the court.
• Check the current court fee schedule in case a fee applies to the step you are taking.

• Do not change an affidavit after it has been signed and witnessed. Any alteration made before then must be initialled by the deponent and the witness in the same way they signed, or the affidavit may only be used if the court orders otherwise (r 434).
• Keep to facts you can prove. On an assessment, the costs of an affidavit that does not comply with the rules, or that unnecessarily copies documents, can be disallowed (r 430(3)).
• Bring the original documents you have exhibited to the hearing. The court's affidavit fact sheet warns that the judge may ask to see them.
• The form states that making an affidavit you know is false in a material particular is an offence. Read it carefully before you sign.