Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) In addition to any other power a court may have, a court may make any order or give any direction it considers appropriate to further the overarching purpose in relation to pre-trial procedures.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a court may give any directions or make any orders it considers appropriate with respect to—
(a) the conduct of proceedings;
(b) timetables or timelines for any matters to be dealt with, including—
(i) the conduct of any hearing; and
(ii) the time within which specified steps in a civil proceeding must be completed;
(c) the use of appropriate dispute resolution to assist in the conduct and resolution of all or part of the civil proceedings;
(d) the attendance of parties and legal practitioners at a case management conference with a judicial officer to consider the most cost effective and efficient means of bringing the civil proceeding to trial and of conducting the civil proceeding, including giving further directions;
(e) defining issues by pleadings or otherwise, including requiring parties or their legal practitioners to exchange memoranda, or take other steps to clarify questions;
(f) the attendance of parties or their practitioners before a judicial officer for a conference for the purposes of—
(i) satisfying the judicial officer that all reasonable steps to achieve resolution of the issues in dispute have been taken; or
(ii) otherwise clarifying the real issues in dispute to enable appropriate directions to be given for the further conduct of the dispute or civil proceeding; or
(iii) otherwise shortening the time taken in preparation for the trial and at the trial;
(g) any other matter specified in rules of court.