Form · Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Defence (Federal Court Form 33): pleading rules, 28-day time limit and completion guide

Link to the Federal Court's Form 33 with a guide to the 28-day time for a defence, the duty to admit or deny every allegation of fact, the effect of a non-admission, and where AI can help.

Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
Where it applies: Australia, Commonwealth
AI use: Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
Law stated as at: 18 October 2026
Status: Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the official form at fedcourt.gov.au and the 4 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
Version: 1
Source: Link to the official form. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Court of Australia). Link only: download the current approved form from the Court each time; do not copy or adapt it.

Where this comes from

The official form is published by fedcourt.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-18.

When to use it

Use when acting for a respondent served with a statement of claim in the Federal Court of Australia.

Used for these tasks

Draft pleadings from the facts-and-issues brief

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

AI may build a paragraph-by-paragraph response table from the statement of claim and the client documents and draft responses for the lawyer to settle; the lawyer decides every admission, denial and non-admission.

AI may

Build a table of every allegation of fact in the statement of claim, with the documents that bear on each
Draft a first-cut response to each paragraph from the lawyer's instructions, marked for the lawyer to settle
Check that every paragraph of the statement of claim has been answered and flag any general denial
Calculate the 28-day date from the date of service, for the lawyer to diarise

AI must not

Must not decide whether to admit, deny or not admit any allegation
Must not plead positive facts the client has not confirmed
Must not put the other side's discovered or confidential material into a tool the Court's orders or the practice note do not allow

The lawyer checks

Defence filed within 28 days after service of the statement of claim, or an extension agreed or ordered
Every allegation of fact specifically admitted or denied; anything not denied is taken to be admitted
Non-admissions only where the client does not know the fact (they are taken as denials)
Positive defences and material facts pleaded so the applicant has fair notice

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

Official form

Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Court of Australia). Link only: download the current approved form from the Court each time; do not copy or adapt it..

Read the full text

The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:

read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.

The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.

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