Personal service requires the documents to be delivered to the party personally. That is, in person, through direct hand-to-hand exchange. The individual must be properly identified before the documents can be exchanged using personal details and by asking them to confirm they are the individual named in the documents. Additional verification may include matching the individual to a recent photograph. They would be told of the nature of the document being served, and the documents would be deemed to be delivered if they are handed to the party (or an officer of the corporation/organisation), or left in their presence.

Ordinary service may involve delivering the documents to the party’s residence or place of business, to a person aged 16 years or above who appears to reside at the address or be employed at that location. Ordinary service may also be effected by leaving the documents at an address, in a location where they are reasonably likely to come to the person’s attention if no one is present.

Step 1: Prepare Your Documents

• Make sure you have your sealed documents ready. These are usually provided by the Court or Tribunal in PDF format with an official seal (often a red, black, or purple stamp). These documents are ready to serve and must not be altered to ensure accuracy in what is being served.

• If you received your sealed documents electronically, they should already be in PDF format. If you received hard copies from the Court, you will need to scan them into PDF format.

• Scan each sealed document as a separate PDF (do not combine multiple documents into one file).

Step 2: Prepare Your Instructions 

Click on the “Serve Now” page to begin the process. Complete the online form and attach all required documents to enable us to successfully carry out the service.

Should you have any questions regarding your instructions, please email us on info@iserveps.com.au.

Step 3: Submit Your Request

Once we receive your documents and instructions, our field agent will begin the process of service and contact you should they have any questions.

We offer 4 types of service options: 

1. Standard Service: 4 to 7 days

2. Urgent Service: 1 to 3 days: Availability for urgent service is subject to confirmation with the attending agent

3. Specific Date/Time Service: Availability for specific service is subject to confirmation with the attending agent

4. Destination Service: Please contact our office to discuss availability of this service.

The above timeframes are provided as average estimates only and should not be relied upon as guaranteed service times. Timeframes may vary due to circumstances encountered when attending service addresses. All reasonable efforts are made to effect service as promptly as possible. 

If a recipient refuses to accept the documents, an agent may still be able to effect service by confirming their identity and leaving the documents in their presence.

Where it is impractical to serve the recipient, or if they are actively avoiding service, an application to the court for substituted service may be required. A Substituted Service order allows the documents to be delivered through an alternative method likely to bring them to the recipient’s attention. We provide an Affidavit outlining our attempts of service to assist you in obtaining this order from the court. 

If you are unable to provide an address for service, we may be able to assist by contacting the recipient to arrange service at a mutually suitable location. If this is not possible, we offer skip tracing services to help locate the individual and identify an address where service can be effected.

Process serving fees vary depending on the service location, urgency and the number of individuals to be served. We provide up to 3 attempts of service.

Once we receive your full instructions and documents, we will review the information and an invoice will be issued to you prior to commencement of service.

For professionals across legal, government, commercial and enforcement sectors, service will be arranged upon receipt of your instructions. An Outcome Report will be provided upon completion of the matter, with a sworn affidavit and invoice issued shortly thereafter.

An affidavit is a written statement used as evidence in legal proceedings, serving as the written form of testimony presented in Court. It sets out details of when, where, how, and by whom service was effected, along with any relevant interactions or responses from the recipient.