The High Court (Improved Access to Civil Justice) Amendment Rules 2025 came into force on 1 January 2026, introducing the most significant reforms to High Court civil procedure in many years.

The changes are intended to make civil litigation clearer, faster, and more proportionate by encouraging parties to identify the real issues early, cooperate throughout the proceeding and resolve disputes wherever possible. A key theme running through the reforms is increased collaboration between lawyers and greater judicial involvement to promote earlier resolution.

While the new regime generally requires more work and expense at the beginning of a case, the expectation is that this upfront investment will reduce delays, procedural disputes, and overall litigation costs.

One particularly welcome change is the return of judicial settlement-style conferences. Previously, Judicial Settlement Conferences were no longer routinely ordered before trial (whereas prior to that they were). Under the new Rules, the Judicial Issues Conference (JIC) has become a mandatory stage of most defended proceedings, providing another opportunity for parties to narrow issues and explore settlement before trial.

What do the reforms aim to achieve?

The amendments are designed to:

• encourage earlier resolution of disputes;
• reduce procedural disputes and improve case management;
• increase cooperation between parties and their lawyers;
• promote the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); and
• ensure litigation is conducted in a way that is proportionate to the issues in dispute.

Although the new Rules generally apply to proceedings commenced from 1 January 2026, the Court retains discretion to apply them to existing proceedings, where doing so would assist in achieving a fair and efficient outcome.

Key Changes

1. Expanded Initial Disclosure

Parties must now provide substantially more information at the commencement of proceedings, including:

• all documents referred to in their pleadings;
• all documents used to prepare those pleadings;
• all documents they intend to rely on at trial; and
• known adverse documents that are relevant to the issues in dispute.

For plaintiffs (in particular), this means greater upfront work (and costs) before proceedings are filed. However, the intention is that comprehensive early disclosure will reduce later disputes over discovery and avoid unnecessary procedural steps, ultimately saving both time and costs.

2. Witness Statements Replace Briefs of Evidence

Factual witness statements must now be exchanged before the Judicial Issues Conference. These statements must:

• be in the witness's own words;
• contain only admissible evidence within the witness's personal knowledge;
• avoid argument, commentary or lengthy summaries of documents; and
• comply with the Rules, failing which the Court may exclude the evidence or impose cost consequences.

The reforms make it clear that witness statements should genuinely reflect the witness's own evidence rather than being lawyer-drafted narratives. Expert evidence will instead be addressed through directions given at the Judicial Issues Conference.

3. Mandatory Judicial Issues Conferences

The Judicial Issues Conference is now mandatory in defended ordinary proceedings unless the Court orders otherwise.

Client representatives with appropriate authority are expected to attend. During the conference, the Judge may:

• identify and narrow the issues genuinely in dispute;
• deal with any remaining interlocutory matters;
• consider whether mediation or another ADR process should occur;
• determine the scope of expert evidence; and
• set an efficient timetable through to trial.

This reflects a stronger expectation that parties will actively engage in resolving disputes at an early stage rather than simply preparing for trial. While most conferences are expected to last around half a day, more complex matters may require additional time.

4. A New Duty to Cooperate

The amendments introduce an express duty for parties and their lawyers to cooperate in achieving the just, speedy, and proportionate resolution of proceedings.

This includes cooperation in relation to:

• disclosure;
• identifying the issues in dispute;
• preparing document bundles and chronologies;
• the sensible use of technology;
• procedural efficiency; and
• direct communication about what is genuinely required to resolve the dispute.

A failure to cooperate may result in judicial intervention or adverse costs orders.

5. Earlier Interlocutory Applications

Applications for summary judgment, strike out or security for costs must now generally be filed within 25 working days after service of the proceeding.

This significantly accelerates the timetable for raising threshold issues and means parties should seek legal advice promptly if they intend to challenge a claim or defence.

6. A More Document-Focused Trial Process

Trials will place greater emphasis on the contemporaneous documents rather than lengthy oral evidence.

The Court expects parties to prepare agreed bundles of documents and chronologies wherever possible. Witness evidence should focus on genuine disputes of fact, while written opening submissions may be filed in advance to streamline the hearing.

What Does This Mean for Litigants and parties?

The reforms represent a significant cultural shift in High Court litigation. Parties can expect to spend more time and money preparing a case at the outset, but the aim is to reduce delays, procedural disputes and overall litigation costs through earlier disclosure, greater cooperation, and more active judicial case management.

For businesses and individuals involved in litigation, promptly obtaining legal advice early will be more important than ever.

For a copy of the Ministry of Justice flowchart on the new process, you can see below or this link here.

If you would like advice about how these changes may affect your dispute or business, please contact the disputes team at Queen City Law. Click here for a profile of Tina Hwang, director, and head of Property & Disputes.