In all jurisdictions except New South Wales, a corporation can only proceed in court if it is represented by a lawyer unless the court provides otherwise.

In New South Wales, a corporation can proceed in court by being represented by an authorised director, officer or employee in certain circumstances.

The common law position is that a corporation may only be represented in court by a legally qualified person or, with leave of the court, an unqualified but authorised agent.

See The common law position.

This guidance note outlines the legislative enactments relevant to the question of who can represent a company in court in each jurisdiction, including the various Court Rules as well as the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The guidance note also considers two Australian cases that assist in determining the current position.

See Legislative enactments.

At common law, courts have discretion to dispense with the requirement that a corporation act through a lawyer.

An overview of the current case law provides an insight into when the court may exercise its discretion in this regard. As the scope of this sub-topic is limited to examining the position of companies if your employer is not a “corporation”, you ought to seek specialist advice on the application of the law covered in this sub-topic.

See Court’s discretion.