Last Updated 1 March 2019

When a person involved in legal proceedings does not have legal representation, they will be representing themselves. There are a number of terms used to describe people representing themselves, including ‘litigant in person’, ‘unrepresented litigant’, ‘pro se litigant’ and, most commonly in Australia, ‘self-represented litigant’. A self-represented litigant is responsible for the conduct of their legal proceeding, including liaising with the court or tribunal and other parties involved in the proceeding, and speaking for themselves during any hearings.

A self-represented litigant will need to notify the court or tribunal that they are representing themselves and provide the court or tribunal and all parties involved with a postal address (usually a street address) where documents for the court proceeding can be sent (called ‘service’).