Affidavit (Form 1A)

Rule 23A of the District Court Rules 2005 (WA) provides that an affidavit filed in the Court may be in the form of Form 1A. The affidavit must also comply with Order 37 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1971, which the District Court applies (DCR r 6 and note 1 to Form 1A). Order 37 sets the rules for title, first-person wording, numbered paragraphs, page numbering, attachments, the index and exhibits. The Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005 (WA) Part 3 sets out the requirements for making an affidavit and who may witness it (note 5 to Form 1A).

When you need it

• You need to put evidence before the District Court in writing, for example to support or oppose a chamber summons or an originating summons.
• You are applying for an interlocutory order after the case is listed for trial, which must be supported by affidavit (DCR r 48B).
• You need to attach documents such as letters, contracts or records to your evidence; they are attached to and bound with the affidavit (RSC O 37 r 2(8) and (9)).

1. 1

   Complete the cover sheet

   Enter the action number (and registry location if not Perth), the parties, the person making the affidavit, the date it is made, its purpose (for example "to support the plaintiff's summons dated ...") and who it is filed by. Order 37 r 13(2) requires the deponent's name, the dates of swearing and filing, and the party it is filed for to be noted on the affidavit.

2. 2

   Complete the index

   If there are attachments, list the affidavit and each attachment with its page numbers and a short description (RSC O 37 r 2(7)). The rules' version of Form 1A uses the deponent's initials and a number for each attachment, for example "VVG 1".

3. 3

   Start the affidavit on a separate page

   Page 1 of the affidavit itself must be on a separate sheet from the cover and index (note 4 to Form 1A). State your full name, the place where you live and your occupation, in the first person. If you are, or are employed by, a party, say so (RSC O 37 r 2(1) and (2)).

4. 4

   Use the right oath or affirmation words

   The Court's Word template is worded for a sworn affidavit ("being duly sworn make oath and say"). If you are affirming, change the words to an affirmation in accordance with the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005.

5. 5

   Write the evidence

   Use consecutively numbered paragraphs, each confined as far as possible to one topic, and write dates, sums and other numbers in figures (O 37 r 2(3) and (4)). Stick to facts you can prove from your own knowledge; statements of information and belief are only allowed in limited cases, such as interlocutory proceedings, and must give their source (O 37 r 6).

6. 6

   Number pages and attach documents

   Number every page of the affidavit and attachments consecutively in the upper right-hand corner (O 37 r 2(6)). Refer to each attachment in the affidavit as being attached. A bound register, account book or unusually sized document is an exhibit instead and must be identified by a certificate of the witness (O 37 r 9).

7. 7

   Sign before an authorised witness

   Complete the jurat with your name, the place and date, then sign in the presence of an authorised witness, who signs and adds their name and qualification.

• File the affidavit before it is used, unless the Court directs otherwise (RSC O 37 r 13(1)). Where a special time is set for filing, a late affidavit can only be used with leave (O 37 r 14).
• Lawyers must eLodge through the ECMS. A self-represented party should use the ECMS if registered, or otherwise may lodge by email to districtcourt@justice.wa.gov.au (preferred) or in hard copy at the registry (PNC 1.2.1).
• An affidavit presented through the ECMS must be signed and in PDF format (RSC O 67A r 4(5), applied by DCR r 6). Each electronic file must be under 200 megabytes (O 37 r 2(11)). Exhibits cannot be filed electronically (O 37 r 9(3)).
• Paper volumes of an affidavit and its attachments must not be more than 40 mm thick unless the Court allows otherwise (O 37 r 2(10)).
• Serve a copy on the other parties within the time the rules or the Court's orders require for the application it supports.

• Leave out argument, hearsay and long extracts from documents. The costs of an affidavit that unnecessarily includes them are paid by the party filing it (O 37 r 6(3)).
• Check that the index page numbers match the actual page numbers in the top right corner.
• Do not use vague occupations or descriptions; O 37 r 2(1) says they must not be used.