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This section of the manual is about attending the magistrates' court hearing.

Purpose of the hearing

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp purpose of the hearing is to obtain an order from the magistrates for payment of the unpaid debt, the court fees, interest and costs.

Certificates of debt

A certificate of debt is a signed statement that the debt shown is due and has not been paid to the Department. It is ‘sufficient�, but not ‘conclusive� evidence of debt. Where you know that your court will require one, you should ensure that you have a properly completed certificate to produce at the appropriate stage of the proceedings.

Final checks before the hearing

Immediately before the hearing you should:

• prepare an imminent proceedings list
• carry out an RP check (DMBM615040)
• satisfy yourself that the summons has been properly served.

Penalties

If you are recovering a penalty you may need to provide certain additional information at the hearing. No more than three days before the hearing you should ask the office that imposed the penalty:

• why the penalty was imposed
• under what specific legislation
• the year/ period and nature of the return and
• whether it is an initial or continuing penalty.