When are pleadings considered to be closed in Queensland practice?

In Queensland practice, pleadings are considered to be closed upon the service of the reply. This means that once the plaintiff has served their reply to the defendant’s defence, the parties have finalized their pleadings, and any further amendments or additions to those pleadings typically must follow a more formal process, such as obtaining leave of the court.

The process of pleadings is foundational in litigation, serving to clearly outline the issues in dispute between the parties. Closing the pleadings helps to formalize the matters that will be addressed in court and assists in ensuring the efficiency of the trial process. After the pleadings are closed, the parties typically move on to other pre-trial steps, such as disclosure and the discovery of evidence.

In contrast, other options do not accurately reflect when pleadings are deemed closed. For example, the 14-day period after filing the defence does not mark the closure of pleadings since a reply can still be served afterward. Issuing non-party disclosure pertains to evidence gathering rather than the status of pleadings, while submitting affidavit evidence is part of the trial preparation and does not pertain to the closure of pleadings. Each of these actions occurs either prior to or following the closure of pleadings, marking different stages of the