Litigation in Queensland is to be governed by a new Act just passed by the Queensland parliament – the Civil Proceedings Act 2011 (Qld) will replace the Supreme Court Act 1995 (Qld) once it has been proclaimed.

The new Act contains many crucial changes – and notably has specific sections requiring parties in dispute to make a bona fide attempt to settle disputes before commencing proceedings.
These changes are designed to encourage resolution before proceedings commence, and also to attempt settlement through various alternate dispute resolution methods such as mediation and case appraisal.

The act is available on the Queensland Legislation website.

This new legislation comes at a time when Queensland Court procedure is being overhauled in a variety of ways – including substantial increases in Court filing fees.