What is a short-notice application?
If an application needs to be heard faster than the ordinary rules allow, Rule 10-9(1) permits a person to ask for an order allowing the main application to proceed on short notice. The request for short notice is not the same thing as the main application itself.
Form F32.01 — Requisition — Short Notice
Rule 10-9(2) allows the short-notice request to be made by Form F32.01, without notice and in a summary way. If the request succeeds, the court or registrar can set the hearing date, fix the deadline for service of the main-application documents and give other necessary directions.
What happens to the normal deadlines?
The normal time limits and notice requirements do not apply to the short-notice request itself. If the court orders that the main application may proceed on short notice, the ordinary time and notice rules also give way to the specific directions made for that application. That makes the wording of the short-notice order critically important.
What about an order with no notice at all?
Rule 10-9(6) separately provides that the court may make an order without notice in a case of urgency. If such an order is made, the party who obtained it must promptly serve the entered order and the supporting documents on each affected person. A person affected by the without-notice order may apply to change or set it aside.
How this fits with the October 2026 application changes
The ordinary Rule 10-6 process changed on October 1, 2026 to a serve-first model, but Rule 10-9 remains the special urgent route. Do not assume the ordinary 5-business-day, 21-day or 14-day Rule 10-6 response periods control a short-notice application after the court has made a Rule 10-9 direction; the short-notice order sets the operative timetable.
Examples of facts that may matter
Whether something is legally urgent is case-specific. Relevant facts can include a genuinely imminent event, immediate safety concerns, threatened removal or dissipation of property, a deadline that cannot reasonably be addressed through ordinary procedure, or another circumstance where waiting would risk serious prejudice. The court decides whether urgency justifies departure from the usual timetable.
Common mistakes
- Calling a matter “urgent” without explaining what concrete event requires accelerated relief.
- Failing to distinguish the short-notice request from the main application.
- Assuming a short-notice order also grants the substantive relief requested in the main application.
- Ignoring service directions contained in the short-notice order.
- Using old pre-October-2026 application instructions for the non-urgent parts of the procedure.
Cost and legal-help considerations
Urgent applications are one of the areas where targeted legal advice can be particularly valuable. A short consultation or limited-scope retainer may help frame the urgency, identify the correct evidence and avoid spending time and filing costs on a procedurally defective request.