eCourtroom

Online Courtroom for Registered Users

eCourtroom is a an online courtroom used by Judges and Judicial Registrars to assist with the management and hearing of some matters before the Federal Court of Australia or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

Such matters include:

• ex parte applications for substituted service in bankruptcy proceedings
• applications for examination summonses
• giving of directions and other orders in General Federal Law matters

eCourtroom is integrated with eLodgment, providing parties with a link between eCourtroom and eLodgment to facilitate the electronic filing of documents.

A transcript facility provides a record of all messages posted by the presiding Judicial Officer and the parties in any matter that is conducted on eCourtroom. This transcript is viewable by parties as well as the public. However, documents posted or filed can be viewed by the parties to the action only, the Judicial Officer and other Court officers.

If you have a procedural enquiry, please contact your local Federal Court registry.

eCourtroom registration

Registration for eCourtroom is done through the eLodgment site. eCourtroom and eLodgment are now integrated to provide single sign-on to registered users. This means that a user can access both services with the one username and password.

1. Go to the eLodgment welcome page
2. Click on the Register Now link
3. Scroll to the Register box towards the top of the page
4. Begin the registration process by selecting a User Type.

Approval of registration may take up to 1 business day. You will receive an email notification when your registration is complete.

There is further information regarding this process in the eLodgment and FAQ sections. If you require assistance on registering for eLodgment, please email eLodgment_admin@fedcourt.gov.au.

eCourtroom Protocol

This Protocol sets out the rules for using eCourtroom.

1. The eCourtroom is a virtual courtroom

Conducting a matter using the eCourtroom is the equivalent of conducting a matter in an ordinary courtroom. This means:

• the eCourtroom must only be used for issues requiring consideration and determination by the Court or a Judge;
• the eCourtroom is not to be used for communications solely between the parties or their representatives, particularly where the communications are confidential or otherwise sensitive;
• the language and modes of address used on the eCourtroom must be same as that used if the matter were being dealt with an ordinary courtroom;
• undertakings given on the eCourtroom by a party or their representative to the Court or a Judge or other parties are binding as if the undertaking were given in an ordinary courtroom;
• the rules of contempt apply to proceedings conducted using the eCourtroom; and
• a copy of the discussion thread for each topic dealt with on the eCourtroom will, unless the Court or a Judge otherwise orders, be publicly available as read-only text on the Court's web site.

2. What matters may be dealt with on eCourtroom

Whether a matter, or part of a matter, is to be dealt with on the eCourtroom will be determined by the Court or a Judge having regard to such things as the nature and complexity of the issues to be resolved, the number of parties, the access of each party to email and the Internet, the views of the parties, the nature and extent of any evidence that may be required, and the urgency of the matter or part of a matter.
Termination of using the eCourtroom for a matter or particular topic: The Court or a Judge may terminate the use of the eCourtroom for a matter or part of matter at any time either on the Court or Judge's own motion or at the request of a party.

3. Login details

Each party or participant to the eCourtroom must have their own username and password, obtained by registering with eLodgment/eCourtroom, Only one registration is required which can be used for both eLodgment and eCourtroom.

4. Using the eCourtroom

The Court or a Judge may give directions as to how a matter, or part of a matter, will be conducted on the eCourtroom. For example, the Court or a Judge may give directions as to:

• the topic or topics to be dealt with on the eCourtroom;
• who may participate in the eCourtroom;
• the maximum length of messages and attachments; and
• the maximum time in which messages (including replies) must be sent to the eCourtroom.

Messages:

Messages must be:

• relevant to the topic or discussion thread to which they are sent;
• brief and to the point; and
• timely.

Documents:

• Documents may be attached to messages sent to the eCourtroom. However, documents can not be filed in the Court using the eCourtroom. Documents can only be filed in accordance with Division 2.3 of the Federal Court Rules.
• In urgent matters, a document that is to be filed may be sent to the eCourtroom with an undertaking that it will be filed in the Court on the next business day.
• Where a message refers to a document that has been filed, a copy of the filed document may be attached to the message for ease of reference. In these cases the message should indicate the date on which the document was filed.
• Documents sent to the eCourtroom must be in RTF, PDF, JPG or Word (DOCX or DOC).

Consent orders:

Where the document sent to the eCourtroom is a draft consent order, the message to which the document is attached should include a certification by the sender that all the parties have seen, and agreed to, the terms of the consent order. Alternatively, a message seeking consent orders may attach:

• a copy of the orders to which the signature of each party or their representative has been affixed pursuant to Rule 39.11 of the Federal Court Rules; or
• a document that is an image of the signed consent orders.

Entering orders:

Orders made by the Court or a Judge on the eCourtroom must be entered in the usual way under Division 39.31 of the Federal Court Rules.

Revised July 2024