| (1) | If a maintenance court is satisfied on the grounds of sufficient proof or otherwise— |
| (a) | that any person against whom an order may be or has been made under section 16(1)(a) or (b) or that any person in whose favour such an order has been made— |
| (i) | has knowledge of a subpoena issued under section 9; or |
| (ii) | has appeared before the court and was warned by the court to appear at a later date, time and place before the court; and |
| (b) | that he or she has failed to appear before the maintenance court on the date and at the time and place— |
| (i) | specified in such subpoena; or |
| (ii) | in accordance with a warning referred to in paragraph (a)(ii), |
the maintenance court may, on the application of the maintenance officer for an order by default, call upon the person who has lodged the complaint to adduce such evidence, either in writing or orally, in support of his or her complaint as the maintenance court may consider necessary.
[Section 18(1) substituted by section 7(a) of Act No. 9 of 2015]
| (2) | After consideration of the evidence, the maintenance court may— |
| (a) | make any order by default which the maintenance court could have made under section 16(1)(a) or (b); |
| (b) | make such other order as the maintenance court may consider appropriate in the circumstances of the case; or |
| (3) | A copy of an order made in respect of any person not present at the enquiry shall be delivered or tendered, as soon as may be practicable in the circumstances, to him or her by any maintenance officer, police officer, sheriff or maintenance investigator, and the return of any such officer, sheriff or investigator showing that such copy was delivered or tendered to the particular person shall be deemed to be sufficient proof of the fact that he or she was aware of the terms of the order in question. |
[Section 18(3) substituted by section 7(b) of Act No. 9 of 2015]
(4)
| (a) | The person in respect of whom a maintenance court has made an order by default may apply to the maintenance court for the variation or setting aside of the order. |
[Section 18(4)(a) substituted by section 7(c) of Act No. 9 of 2015]
| (b) | The application shall be made in the prescribed manner within 20 days after the day on which the person became aware of the order by default or within such further period as the maintenance court may, on good cause shown, allow. |
| (c) | Any person who wishes to make an application under paragraph (a) shall give notice of his or her intention to make the application to the person who lodged the complaint, which notice shall be served at least 14 days before the day on which the application is to be heard. |
| (d) | The maintenance court may call upon— |
| (i) | the person who has made the application to adduce such evidence, either in writing or orally, in support of his or her application as the maintenance court may consider necessary; or |
| (ii) | the person who has lodged the complaint to adduce such evidence, either in writing or orally, in rebuttal of the application as the maintenance court may consider necessary. |
| (5) | After consideration of the evidence, the maintenance court may— |
| (a) | make an order confirming the order by default referred to in subsection (2)(a); |
| (b) | vary such order by default, if it appears to the maintenance court that good cause exists for such variation; or |
| (c) | set aside such order by default, if it appears to the maintenance court that good cause exists for such setting aside, and convert the proceedings into a maintenance enquiry. |
(6)
| (a) | Any person in whose favour an order by default has been made may consent in writing to the variation or setting aside of the order. |
| (b) | The consent in writing shall be handed in at the hearing of the application for the variation or setting aside of the order by default. |
