One of the most successful enforcement actions used in Tasmanian debt recovery is a Garnishee Order, issued out of the Magistrates court of Tasmania.
A Garnishee Order is an attachment on a non-government employee’s earnings. The employer is required to deduct an amount equal to 20% of earnings after superannuation, Taxation, and any other Garnishee orders already in place. These deductions take place every pay period until the debt, plus the court costs paid by the Judgment Creditor incurred in the process of issuing the Garnishee order, are satisfied.
The Garnishee is issued in two parts. Firstly a “Provisional Garnishee order” is served upon the Judgment Debtor & the employer. Both the Judgment Debtor and the employer have the chance to state to the court any reason why the Garnishee should not be finalised. They have 21 days to state this. At the end of 21 days, providing neither party have objected, the Garnishee is made final by serving the “Final Garnishee order” on both parties.
Where the employer is a Commonwealth or Federal Government department a document called a “Salary Attachment” is issued. Deductions are made from the Judgment Debtors wage, but it differs from a Garnishee order in that it is only served once, on the employer.
When referring a debt to Tasmanian Collection Service for recovery it is highly beneficial to the outcome that you share details such as your customers employment. One of the best ways to ensure you collect the right information is to use a credit application form.
If you would like any further information about attachments to earnings or credit application forms please contact your Account Manager on 6213 5555 or by emailing [email protected]
You may also be interested in our upcoming free webinar on managing your debtors, for further information click HERE
An enforcement action is an action issued after Judgment has been obtained.
The term judgment debtor is used, when referring to your customer once judgment has been obtained.