Implementation of pre-litigation reforms to be delayed by 18 months

Last week, the NSW Attorney-General announced that the implementation of the new pre-litigation steps requirements of the Civil Procedure Act will be postponed by 18 months.

The new requirements would have necessitated that parties take reasonable steps to resolve their disputes before commencing court proceedings and was initially due to commence on 1 October 2011.

The postponement is in response to the fact that lawyers and clients already take reasonable steps to resolve civil disputes before resorting to litigation and the concerns raised by stakeholders that the provisions may have a number of unintended consequences, including increased costs to parties.

The NSW Government intends to monitor the success of similar provisions introduced in the Federal Court from 1 August this year before making a final decision on the implementation of pre-litigation steps in NSW.