This page explains how to complete a UCPR affidavit form for NSW courts. Before you begin, you may want to read about how affidavits are used in the courts of New South Wales as well as downloading the correct form.
Writing a UCPR affidavit
Like most affidavits, writing a UCPR affidavit mostly involves inserting the correct information (such as the deponent’s name, details and their evidence) in the affidavit form.
However the affidavit form also includes optional information and instructions, together with information marked by hashtags, or in square brackets or in a smaller font which must be dealt with in a particular way. This is explained further below.
Hashtags (#)
Optional information in a UCPR form is marked with a hashtag (#). Sometimes this will mean you can delete all the information marked with a hashtag if it is not relevant to your affidavit. Other times you need to choose between two or more options all marked with a hashtag (the context will make this clear).
The final version of the affidavit must always have all the hashtags themselves removed.
Example: the first hashtag field in the affidavit form is “#Division”. Not all courts have Divisions. Where the relevant court does have Divisions you should remove the hashtag from in front of the word Division and fill in the Division field by stipulating the Division (eg Common Law Division). Where the relevant court does not have Divisions then the whole word Division and the hashtag in front of it should be deleted (simply delete the row in the document which will bring the text below up and avoid having blank rows).
Example 2: there is a field “#SWORN #AFFIRMED at” in the jurat of the affidavit (which then contains a space for the location to be inserted). Because the affidavit must be either sworn or affirmed (and cannot be both), one of these options must be deleted and the other should be retained. Again, both hashtags must be deleted so that the text will either read “SWORN at” or “AFFIRMED at”.
Square brackets []
Square brackets are used to indicate where information must be provided in the affidavit. The square brackets themselves and the instructions within them must be replaced with the information sought.
Where the square brackets and instructions are in bold, the information that replaces them should also be in bold. If the instructions in a square bracket are in block capital letters, the information that replaces them should also be in block capitals.
The final version of the affidavit must always have all the square brackets themselves removed.
Example: the title of the affidavit form is “AFFIDAVIT OF [NAME] [DATE]“. When finalised, this should read (for example) “AFFIDAVIT OF JOHN DOE 1 JANUARY 2016.”
Instructional text in square brackets in 9 point font
The affidavit forms contain instructional text in square brackets [ ] which is in 9 point font (a smaller font to the text of the affidavit, which is 11 point font). These instructions and the brackets should be deleted and should not appear in the final version of the affidavit.
Therefore you should delete these pieces of instructional text from the affidavit form:
- [include only if form to be eFiled] – on page 1 of the affidavit
- [on separate page] – on page 2 of the affidavit
- [The deponent and witness must sign each page of the affidavit. See UCPR 35.7B.] – after the witnesses signature
If the affidavit is being sworn within NSW, there are two additional pieces of instructional text saying “[OR, delete whichever option is inapplicable]” within the identification fields which should be deleted. The footnote symbols and footnote text in these fields should also be deleted.
Delete these comments when finalising the affidavit.