The dispute existed before the statutory demand but the records are scattered

You remember objecting before the demand arrived

Suppose a company receives a statutory demand over work it previously questioned. The director remembers several calls, while staff hold photographs and messages on different devices. A general statement that the debt was always disputed is difficult to assess. Preserve the original records and ask a lawyer urgently what information is needed for the actual demand and response timetable.

Let the lawyer assess the legal significance

The Federal Court's guide identifies a genuine dispute as one potential ground for setting aside a statutory demand. Whether that ground is available depends on the facts and applicable requirements. Do not treat the existence of an angry email as automatically sufficient. Give the lawyer the complete material, including responses from the creditor and anything that may undermine your recollection.

Source: Federal Court: Statutory demands and winding-up proceedings

Anchor the chronology to specific events

Record when the concern first arose, what was said to be wrong and how it was communicated. Link each event to its email, message, inspection record or other source. In the hypothetical example, an internal complaint about quality is different from an objection actually sent to the supplier. Identify both accurately rather than describing every internal discussion as notice to the other party.

Separate different kinds of disagreement

Distinguish a complaint about performance from a question about price, a request for more time to pay or a proposed commercial compromise. Keep the original wording. Do not relabel a cash-flow request as a dispute about liability after the demand arrives. Your lawyer needs to understand what the company genuinely maintained and what remains uncertain.

Avoid manufacturing a complete account

If a call has no contemporaneous note, identify the person who remembers it and the limits of that memory. Preserve subsequent references that may assist. Do not create a backdated document or coach staff into matching accounts. Ask the lawyer how formal evidence should be prepared, and continue the urgent procedural work while factual enquiries are being completed.

Deliver a focused evidence trail

Provide the short chronology, original records and outstanding questions together with the full demand and service information. Confirm responsibility for required action rather than assuming the document search protects the deadline. CRP can help organise the commercial facts. The value lies in a traceable history of the real dispute, not a more forceful description of it after the statutory process has begun.