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Step by step guide - Garnishee order for wages or salary

Information about how to apply for a garnishee order for wages or salary.

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    You need a judgment from the court before you can apply for a garnishee order for wages or salary.

A garnishee order for wages or salary is a court order that allows you to recover the judgment debt from the other party's wages. The other party's employer will be required to pay some of the other party's pay (their wages or salary) to you until the debt is paid off. To get a garnishee order for wages or salary, follow the steps in the guide on this page.

You need two forms: 

  • ​Form 69 - Notice of motion garnishee order. 
  • Form 71 - Garnishee order for wages or salary. You don’t need this form if you are filing your application on the NSW Online Registry.

You can get a copy of the form from: 

The notice of motion has an affidavit attached. 

You can file the Notice of motion garnishee order (Form 69) using the NSW Online Registry.

You can fill out your form:

  • ​​​​by completing it on your computer
  • by printing the form and completing it in blue or black pen.
Complete the Notice of Motion

To fill out the notice of motion form you will need to have the following information ready: 

  • ​​Your case number. You will find this on your stamped copy of the statement of claim. 
  • The date of the judgment. 
  • The name of the other party. 
  • The name of the proposed garnishee (the other party's employer). 
  • How you know the garnishee is holding money owed to the judgment debtor.
  • The total amount of the judgment.
  • The employer's address. 
  • The total amount of enforcement costs you have paid since the judgment was made by the court. 
  • The amount of interest owed on the judgment debt since the day after the judgment was made by the court to the date you sign the affidavit, if you want to claim interest after judgment. 
  • The service fee for the garnishee order only if you intend to pay a process server or the sheriff to serve the garnishee order. 
  • Details of any earlier instalment order.

When have completed the notice of motion form, you need to swear or affirm the affidavit section in front of an approved witness, a lawyer or Justice of the Peace (JP).

For more information about where to find a Justice of the Peace, see Finding a JP on the Department of Communities & Justice website.

The affidavit must be signed and witnessed on each page no more than 14 days before the date you file the notice of motion. 

Complete the Garnishee order  for wages or salary

To fill out the garnishee order form you will need to have the following information ready:

  • ​​​Your case number. 
  • The date of the judgment. 
  • The name of the other party. 
  • The name and address of the employer.
  • The total amount of the judgment.
  • Your contact details including address, telephone, fax and email. 

Instructions: 

Instructions: Notice of motion - garnishee order

Instructions: Garnishee order for wages or salary

Samples:

Sample: Notice of motion - garnishee order for wages or salary 

Sample: garnishee order for wages or salary

You can file the forms on the NSW Online Registry​ or the Local Court registry. 

​If you are filing the forms at the Local Court, you can take or send both forms to the Local Court where the statement of claim was filed. 

You should file an original and two extra copies of the forms. There is no filing fee. 

Send or take a sealed (stamped) copy of the garnishee order to the other party's employer. You do not have to give a copy to the other party.

The employer will take money out of the other party's wages until the debt is paid.

The other party must be left with a minimum amount of money to live on, currently $593.40 per week (as at 1 October 2024). The amount left for the other party is based on a weekly compensation amount adjusted in April and October each year. To check the current amo​unt, see Garnishee amounts on the Local Court website.

Once paying you, the garnishee is allowed to deduct up to $13.00 for administration expenses. This doesn't come out of the money owed to you. 

Often the other party is not aware of the garnishee order until the money has been taken out of their wage. The other party may apply to the court to pay by instalments. If the instalment application is approved by the court, the order becomes an instalment garnishee order and the employer can only take out the instalment amount from the other party's wage.  

For more information, see Being paid in instalments, in After court .