Request for consent order of registrar (Form 59a)

Rule 666 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) lets the registrar give judgment or make another order if the parties consent in writing and the registrar considers it appropriate. The consents must be filed, and the order states that it was made by consent. In the Supreme Court, Practice Direction 11 of 2023 (amended 20 August 2024) sets out the procedure and the kinds of orders the registrar will and will not usually make. Form 59A (Version 5, approved 12 June 2023) is the request, filed with a draft consent order in Form 59.

When you need it

• All parties agree on a procedural order the registrar can make. The practice direction's examples include costs orders, extensions of time, transfers between registries or courts, extending an injunction or undertaking given before a judge, setting aside a default judgment, leave to discontinue, mediation orders and expert evidence filing directions.
• You want a hearing date vacated as part of the consent order. The form has a paragraph for this.
• Not just to adjourn an application. The form and the practice direction point you to the consent adjournment form (Form 11) instead.
• Not for orders a judge should make, such as declarations, orders containing new undertakings, cross-vesting orders, listing a matter for trial, or dispensing with signatures on a request for trial date (PD 11 of 2023, para 6).

1. 1

   Complete the heading

   Choose the court, then add the registry, number and parties as Plaintiff/Applicant and Defendant/Respondent.

2. 2

   Check the assurances

   By signing, each consenting party assures the registrar that everyone consenting has signed this or an attached Form 59A, no other party's rights are affected, statutory requirements have been met, the order is within the court's jurisdiction and the registrar's power, and it does not call for judicial discretion.

3. 3

   Choose the right paragraph 7

   Delete one version. Either the order does not relate to a proceeding on the Supervised Case List, the self-represented litigants Supervised Case List, the Commercial List or the Wills and Estates List, or it relates to such a matter pending on the Applications List. Paragraph 8 confirms the order does not list or delist a matter for trial.

4. 4

   Add the vacate paragraph if needed

   If a hearing date is no longer needed once the order is made, insert the date to be vacated and the matter it relates to.

5. 5

   Sign

   Each party signs personally or, if represented, by their solicitor. Insert the signatory's full name in upper case and their description, for example the solicitor's position and firm name, and the date. PD 11 of 2023 requires a represented party's form to be signed by a solicitor personally.

• File together: every signed Form 59A (attached together if parties signed separately), a draft order in Form 59, and a short affidavit if needed (PD 11 of 2023, para 8).
• If the order relates to a matter listed in the Applications List, file by 4.00pm the day before the hearing. The registrar notifies the parties of the result, and if not persuaded, refers the matter to the senior judge in Applications that week (para 9).
• In proceedings on the Supreme Court Caseflow Management List, the application goes to the Resolution Registrar (para 5).
• In the Supreme and District Courts, Form 59A, the draft Form 59 and any affidavit may be filed by email (Principal Registrar Approval 1 of 2025). The District Court's procedure is in its Practice Direction 2 of 2010.
• Check the current fee schedule in case a fee applies.

• Give the registrar everything needed to make the order, including copies of any relevant statutory provisions. The practice direction says the registrar should not have to search legislation or the court file (para 7).
• Use this procedure where it fits. If a matter that could have gone to the registrar by consent goes to a judge instead, the judge may require an affidavit of justification and adverse costs may follow (para 12).
• The form must be personally signed by the party, or by their legal representative if they have one.