Notice of non-party disclosure (UCPR) (Form 21)

Under rule 242 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), a party may by notice require a person who is not a party (the respondent) to produce a document that is directly relevant to an allegation in issue, is in the respondent's possession or control, and could be required to be produced at trial. It cannot be used if there is another reasonably simple and inexpensive way of proving the matter (r 242(2)). The notice must be issued in the same way as a claim, state the allegation the document is relevant to, include a certificate by the party or their solicitor that there is no other simple and inexpensive way of proving the matter, be in the approved form (Form 21, Version 2), and be served in the same way as a claim within 3 months after issue (r 243). Objections, costs and production are dealt with in rules 244 to 249.

When you need it

• You need documents held by someone outside the case, such as a bank, employer, doctor or government agency, that are directly relevant to an allegation in the pleadings.
• There is no simpler or cheaper way to prove the point. The court's fact sheet suggests that if the documents are about you, a Right to Information, Information Privacy or Freedom of Information request may be an alternative.
• Not for documents held by another party, which come through party disclosure, and not to make a witness attend court, which needs a subpoena (Forms 41 to 43).

1. 1

   Complete the heading and issue block

   Choose the court and copy the registry, number and parties. The registry completes the place and date of issue and the registrar signs and seals the notice.

2. 2

   Name the respondent and any affected party

   Insert the name and address of the person required to produce (the nominated party). Add any person who must also be served under rule 244, such as a non-party the documents are about or the owner of the documents (the affected party), or delete that line if there is none.

3. 3

   State the allegation in issue

   Identify, from the pleadings, the allegation the documents are relevant to, and name the requesting party (plaintiff, defendant or third party).

4. 4

   Complete the schedule

   Number and describe each document to be produced. Describe them precisely: lack of particularity is one of the listed grounds of objection (r 245(4)(c)).

5. 5

   Sign the certificate

   The requesting party, or their solicitor, signs the rule 243(1)(c) certificate that there is no other reasonably simple and inexpensive way of proving the matter, and completes the filed-by details.

6. 6

   Certificate if an affected party is not served

   If the solicitor believes on reasonable grounds that serving an affected party would risk fabrication of evidence or fraud, the solicitor completes a certificate in Form 20 instead (r 244(2) and the form's footnote).

• File the notice for issue at the registry where the proceeding is. Check the current fee schedule in case a fee applies.
• Serve any affected parties first, then the respondent, within 3 months after issue and in the same way as a claim (rr 243(1)(e), 243(2), 244(1)). The court's fact sheet says an individual respondent must be served personally and a company can be served by post to its registered office.
• The respondent must produce the documents between 7 and 14 days after service, at its or its solicitor's place of business in ordinary business hours or as agreed (rr 242, 248).
• An objection served within 7 days stays the notice. The requesting party may apply to the court within 7 days after the objection is served (rr 245-247).

• The requesting party must pay the respondent's reasonable costs of producing the documents. The respondent must give written notice of those costs within 1 month after producing, and the requesting party may ask the registrar to assess them within 1 month after that notice (r 249).
• Unless the court orders otherwise, each side bears its own costs of an application to decide an objection (r 247(3)).
• Disclosure under a notice is not an ongoing duty (r 242(4)). If more documents come into existence later, you need a fresh notice.