Prepare the people behind your statutory demand evidence
Identify factual witnesses and original service and account records for legal preparation after non-compliance.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The file needs people as well as documents
An unanswered statutory demand can lead to requests for evidence from your lawyer. A folder full of scans does not explain who sent a document, who checked the balance or how the records were created. Identify those people early so questions can be answered without reconstructing events from memory under pressure.
Imagine a plumbing contractor whose bookkeeper prepared the account, office assistant arranged delivery and director spoke with the builder afterwards. Each person knows something different. Record those roles beside the relevant documents. Avoid asking the director to describe every event as though they personally saw it happen; let the lawyer decide what evidence is needed.
Preserve the demand, attachments, delivery records, bank entries and correspondence in their original form where available. Keep a working index separately. Do not improve an old email by editing its wording or insert a reconstructed date into the original file. If a detail is uncertain, flag the uncertainty and explain how it might be checked.
The Federal Court's guide describes supporting affidavit evidence covering service, non-compliance and the debt still payable. Your role is to supply accurate facts and records. The lawyer can assess the appropriate witnesses and documents. A neat internal summary is useful background, but it should not be treated as a replacement for the required evidence.
Check whether the relevant person is on leave, has left the business or holds records in a separate system. Give the lawyer contact details through an appropriate channel and explain any practical access problem. For the plumbing contractor, locating the assistant's original delivery confirmation now is more useful than discovering its absence shortly before filing.
If the reconciliation reveals a payment or an earlier note was wrong, tell the lawyer promptly and preserve the correction trail. Do not conceal an awkward fact to keep the story simple. A reliable evidence handover makes clear what happened, who knows it and where the supporting record can be found.
