Defend a challenge or a claim

If you receive a statement of claim, you need to file a statement of defence within the time stated under the heading Notice to defendant in the statement of claim.

Documents: statement of defence

File and serve a statement of defence using Form 4.

Fill in Form 4 and send it to the registry at: EmploymentCourt@justice.govt.nz.

You can also file the document by accessing File and Pay. (external link)

After entering your contact details, select:

Court Type: The Employment Court
Location: either Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch
Case type: Other documents
Filing type: Statement of defence
Enter the Case title (names of the parties) and Case number (file number if known).

If you are filing a statement of defence using File and Pay or by email, the registry will advise you whether and how many hard copies of the application you will need to give.

In drafting your statement of defence you need to follow regulations 19 and 20 of the Employment Court Regulations 2000:¹

list the full name, address and occupation of each party involved. If the claim is a challenge, those names should be exactly the same as the names shown on the front page of the determination of the Employment Relations Authority.
set out, in consecutively numbered paragraphs, whether you admit or deny the statements of fact in the statement of claim. You do not need to plead to a statement that does not affect you (just say “The defendant does not need to plead to paragraph…")
have short paragraphs that just deal with one topic
avoid being evasive. If you deny a statement of fact in the statement of claim, say why
provide enough facts (time, place, amounts, names of the persons, and other circumstances) to fully, fairly and clearly tell the court and the plaintiff/s of the nature and details of the defence
if you refer to a positive defence (if you are raising some further matter beyond your responses to the plaintiff’s claim) include the general nature of the defence, the facts (but not the evidence of those facts) upon which the defence is based on and references to any relevant employment agreement or employment contract or legislation that you are relying upon
state at the bottom of the statement of defence that it is filed by you and provide the address for service (the address where documents can be left or posted). If you have a representative who is filing a statement of defence on your behalf that person should provide their details
have your signature and the date.

Time limit

You have 30 clear days from the day on which the statement of claim was served on you to file a statement of defence. You need to serve the statement of defence on the plaintiff/s as soon as possible.

If you do not file a statement of defence within the 30 days you will need to apply to the Court to be able to defend the proceedings.

You should serve the plaintiff immediately after or at the time of filing your defence with the registry.

Find Form 4 and a completed example of a statement of defence on our forms and fees page.

Find out more about completing, filing and serving documents.

Filing fee

No fee is required.

Counterclaims and cross-challenges

If you wish to file a counterclaim or a cross-challenge include it at the end of you statement of defence and provide a notice to the other party.

Please note: If you intend to file a statement of defence that includes a cross-challenge, the document must be filed within 28 days from the date of the written determination issued by the Employment Relations Authority. If you are late you will need to apply for leave to extend the time for filing a cross-challenge.

Find out more about applying to extend the time for filing a challenge.

Find Form 2A an application for leave and affidavit on our forms and fees page.

Footnotes

reg 19-20, Employment Court Regulations 2000(external link)

This page was last updated: 15th June 2026