The Supreme Court of Victoria has finally caught up to the way practitioners have been preparing affidavits, especially in larger matters, and in VCAT, where the rules are not so prescriptive.

Rule 43 and Form 43A (effective from 1 October 2021) allow a paginated bundle of documents to be filed behind a single exhibit certificate. Halleloo! It was such a waste of time preparing exhibit certificates.

Now you can compile your exhibit documents, paginate the whole lot using your PDF program, and place the exhibit certificate on top.

The new Rule 28.05 also prevents inspection of documents on the court file by non-parties, unless the document has been relied on in open court, or with permission of the Court.