Consolidated practice directions

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1. 
Following this Practice Direction are forms for a memorandum of 
conferral pursuant to O 59 r 9(1) (Form 108 at PD 4.3.2.1) and a 
memorandum supporting the waiver of conferral pursuant to O 59 r 9(2) 
(Form 109 at PD 4.3.2.2). The forms are largely self-explanatory.
Practitioners and self-represented persons should
also consider the 
following matters. 
2. 
Order 59 r 9 provides as follows: 
'(1) No order shall be made on an application in chambers unless 
the application was filed with a memorandum stating - 
(a) that the parties have conferred to try to resolve the 
matters giving rise to the application; and 
(b) the matters that remain in issue between the parties. 
(2) The Court may waive the operation of subrule (1) in a case of 
urgency or for other good reason.' 
3. 
The Court promotes the use of the conferral process under O 59 r 9. See 
Youlden Enterprises Pty Ltd v Health Solutions (WA) Pty Ltd
[2006] 
WASC 161; (2006) 33 WAR 1 [3] - [5]. The purpose of O 59 r 9 is to 
ensure that: 
•
parties resolve issues between themselves so far as possible; 
•
only those matters which are really in dispute are referred to the 
Court; and 
•
on occasions when matters are to be determined by the Court all 
parties appreciate what the real issues in dispute are. 
4. 
Practitioners, as officers of the Court, have a duty to approach the 
conferral process to achieve the spirit encapsulated in par 3 of this 
Practice Direction and not merely to comply with the letter of O 59 r 9. 
5. 
Order 59 r 9 requires that parties confer in the sense of there being an 
exchange of views for the purpose of trying to resolve the matters in 
issue. Conferral is required no matter how unlikely it is that the parties 
will reach agreement or even narrow the issues between them.

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4. General Division - Civil 
PD 4.3.2 
Supreme Court of Western Australia 
Consolidated Practice Direction
6. 
Conferral must occur shortly prior to the making of an application and 
must relate to the application itself rather than simply to the issue that is 
the subject of the application. The giving of notice of an intention to 
make an application is not conferral. 
7. 
Practitioners with authority to resolve the interlocutory dispute must 
confer either face to face or by telephone. While an exchange of 
correspondence will often be part of the conferral process it will only be 
where face to face or telephone contact is not feasible that reliance 
simply upon written communication can be justified. In such a case, 
which will be exceptional, the claimed justification should be set out in 
the memorandum of conferral. 
8. 
A memorandum of conferral must follow Form 108. It is not acceptable 
to include a note regarding conferral at the foot of an application. A 
separate memorandum must be filed. The memorandum must set out 
briefly the facts relied upon to show conferral. It is not acceptable to 
note simply that conferral has occurred and that the parties are unable to 
agree.
9. 
Affidavits filed in connection with the proceedings should not contain 
any reference to the conferral without leave of the court. In the past the 
practice of including this material in affidavits has discouraged the 
making of concessions in the course of those communications. 
10. In the event that parties are unable to resolve the matters in dispute 
between them, there must be conferral with a view to agreement being 
reached as to the programming of the application for a case management 
conference. This may enable the Court to make programming orders or 
to deal with the application entirely without the need for any appearance 
by the parties. Paragraph 3 of Form 108 deals with this. 
11. In the event that a party seeks an order that the requirement for conferral 
be waived, for example, because attempts to confer with other parties 
have been unsuccessful or urgency, then: 
•
An order to this effect must be sought in the application; and 
•
A memorandum in terms of Form 109 must be filed that states 
briefly the facts relied upon to support waiver. 

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4. General Division - Civil 
PD 4.3.2 
Supreme Court of Western Australia 
Consolidated Practice Direction
12. A failure to: 
•
confer;
•
file a memorandum of conferral; or
•
comply with the requirement to omit reference to the conferral in 
an affidavit without leave of the court (par 9);
may result in adverse costs orders being made against those parties or 
practitioners who are at fault. 

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4. General Division - Civil 
Supreme Court of Western Australia 
Consolidated Practice Direction
4.3.2.1.
Form 108 - Memorandum of Conferral