DebtCallIf a customer won't pay, the courts are there as a last resort. But before you file anything, it's worth understanding what litigation actually costs – because the bill is rarely just one number. Court action has three layers of cost: the court's own filing fees, the legal fees you pay a solicitor, and the enforcement costs that come later if the debtor still doesn't pay after you've won. Below is a plain-English guide to the approximate figures across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, current as at mid-2026. Court fees are indexed and change (usually on 1 July each year), so always confirm the exact amount with the relevant court before you file.
The one big variable: is the claim defended?
The single factor that decides whether litigation is cheap or expensive is whether the debtor fights back. An undefended claim – where the debtor is served, does nothing, and you obtain default judgment – is largely an administrative process. A defended claim that runs to a hearing is a different animal, where legal fees can climb into the thousands or tens of thousands. Most straightforward unpaid-invoice matters are never defended, but you should size up the possibility before you commit.
New South Wales
Debt claims up to $100,000 are heard in the Local Court. Claims up to $20,000 go through the Small Claims Division; $20,001–$100,000 through the General Division. (Ordinary business-to-business debts are not handled by NCAT – that tribunal is mainly for consumer and tenancy matters.)
Filing fees for a Statement of Claim are, as at mid-2026, roughly $179 for an individual or $358 for a company in the Small Claims Division, and around $370 / $740 in the General Division – companies pay double. If you win and need to enforce, a writ for the levy of property costs about $111 per attempt plus 3% of whatever is recovered. On an undefended claim, professional costs for a solicitor to prepare, file and obtain default judgment commonly run $700–$1,500, much of which is recoverable from the debtor under a fixed scale.
Victoria
The Magistrates' Court hears debt claims up to $100,000, and claims of $10,000 or less are automatically referred to a simpler, cheaper arbitration rather than a full hearing. (As in NSW, VCAT does not deal with general commercial debts – only consumer-and-trader disputes over goods or services.)
Filing fees are tiered by claim size and, again, companies pay roughly double. As at mid-2026, filing a complaint costs a company from about $343 on a small claim up to around $1,090 for a claim in the $10,000–$40,000 band, and roughly $1,634 above $40,000; individuals pay about half those amounts. If you need the Sheriff to seize property after judgment, expect an execution fee of around $230 on top of a small warrant-issue fee.
Queensland
Queensland splits the work. Smaller debts up to $25,000 go to QCAT as a minor debt claim, with filing fees of roughly $96 to $406 depending on the amount. Debts from $25,000 up to $150,000 go to the Magistrates Court, where filing fees run from about $211 to $788 depending on the claim size and whether you're a company. Above $150,000 you're into the District Court. Enforcement adds further fees – around $134 to issue an enforcement warrant plus about $142 for the bailiff to attempt service.
What you can claim on top of the debt
The filing and legal fees above aren't all money you simply lose – when you take a debt to court, you can generally claim several things on top of the invoice itself, and a well-drafted claim recovers as much of your outlay as the rules allow.
The starting point is the principal debt – the unpaid invoice amount. To that you can usually add interest: if your contract or terms of trade provide for interest on overdue accounts you can claim it, and even where they don't, a court can award interest up to the date of judgment at a rate it sets and publishes, with interest continuing to accrue on the judgment until it's paid. You can also add your court filing fee and disbursements – the cost of filing, serving the claim and later enforcing it is generally loaded onto the judgment so the debtor bears it, not you.
Legal costs are the part that varies most. On an undefended claim that ends in default judgment, a fixed scale of professional costs is added automatically – a set amount tied to the size of the debt – which is why an undefended matter can cost you comparatively little out of pocket. On a defended matter, if you win, the court can order the debtor to pay your costs on the "standard basis," but in practice that usually covers only around 60–70% of what you actually spent. And in the small-claims tracks, recoverable legal costs are capped or largely excluded by design, so for smaller debts you should assume you'll carry most of your own legal expense.
The practical upshot: a clear contract – one that spells out interest and lets you recover collection and legal costs – materially improves how much you actually walk away with.
The costs you don't always recover
Recovering costs isn't the same as being made whole. As the scale above shows, a defended win typically still leaves you carrying part of your own legal bill, and the smallest-claims tracks limit what you can claim regardless of who wins. There's the time, too: an undefended claim generally takes 6–12 weeks from filing to judgment, and enforcement can take longer still. And a judgment is only ever worth what you can collect – if the debtor has no money or has become insolvent, a court order doesn't change that.
Who you're suing changes what you can collect
An easy thing to overlook is that the debtor's legal structure affects both what you pay to sue and – more importantly – what you can realistically collect afterwards. On the filing side, most courts charge a company more than an individual (often double, as the figures above show). But the bigger difference comes after judgment.
If you're chasing an individual or sole trader, they are personally liable for the whole debt, so a judgment lets you pursue their personal assets – a garnishee over wages or a bank account, seizure of property, or bankruptcy as a last resort. There's no corporate shield, though an individual with few assets can still be hard to collect from. A partnership usually gives you more than one target: in an ordinary partnership the partners are personally liable for the firm's debts, so you can enforce against the partners' own assets, not just the business's.
A company is different because of limited liability. The debt belongs to the company, not its directors – so unless a director has signed a personal guarantee, you're limited to whatever the company itself owns. If it has no assets, or is wound up, a judgment against it can be worth very little, and you'll rank behind secured creditors and employees. This is precisely why, when you extend credit to a company, a personal guarantee from a director is worth securing up front – it gives you an individual to fall back on if the company can't or won't pay.
The cheaper first step
This is exactly why a formal letter of demand is the standard first move before litigation. It costs a fraction of court action, resolves a large share of debts without anyone going near a courtroom, and preserves the court option if it doesn't work. DebtCall is a law firm that issues a formal letter of demand – delivered by email and SMS – for the Pre-Court Fee, with any payment going straight to your own account. If it comes to it, DebtCall can act for you in court as your law firm, with those costs quoted separately. Starting there means you only reach for the expensive option if you genuinely need to.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Court fees change regularly – confirm current figures with the relevant court.
Owed money? Start a case with DebtCall for the Pre-Court Fee – a law-firm letter of demand by email and SMS. For advice about your own situation, contact us, or learn more about DebtCall.