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High Court action · High Court

Notice of intention to defend delivered — High Court

The defendant has given notice to defend a combined summons.

The periods

StepPeriodRule
Plea or exception due+20 court daysUniform Rule 22(1)
Replication due if the plea arrives on its last day+15 court days after the previous stepUniform Rule 25(1)

Worked out from Saturday 17 October 2026

ThenBy
Plea or exception due+20 court days · Uniform Rule 22(1) Mon 16 Nov 2026
Replication due if the plea arrives on its last day+15 court days · Uniform Rule 25(1) Mon 7 Dec 2026

Public holidays inside this window, skipped by the count: Local government elections (4 Nov).

A working aid computed from the published rule, not legal advice. Confirm against the rule and diarise with a margin. Firms on AttorneyOS get this table on the matter itself, with every date in the diary.

Questions

Plea or exception due: how long after notice of intention to defend delivered — High Court?

20 court days from the day it happened, counted in court days, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (Uniform Rule 1). The rule is Uniform Rule 22(1). If the last day is not a court day, check whether the rule carries it to the next one.

Replication due if the plea arrives on its last day: how long after notice of intention to defend delivered — High Court?

15 court days from the previous step, counted in court days, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (Uniform Rule 1). The rule is Uniform Rule 25(1). If the last day is not a court day, check whether the rule carries it to the next one.

Does the December recess affect this?

Where a High Court division excludes 16 December to 15 January from the days counted for pleadings, those days do not run for this trigger. Check the practice directive of the division you are in.

Can I rely on these dates?

They are computed from the published rule by the AttorneyOS deadline engine and are a working aid, not legal advice. Confirm the deadline against the rule itself and diarise it with a margin.

More: every trigger in the library · served today · court days calculator · this week in practice.