If you have received an NCAT application and you are the respondent, you should attend to it immediately.
This guide is written for the respondent in the Consumer and Commercial Division. This includes a business owner, company, or individual defending an NCAT claim. It sets out the steps you should take, possible liabilities, and risk management.
If you have just been served and the hearing date is close, call (02) 9233 7737 for a free initial phone consultation.
What Happens After an NCAT Application Is Lodged Against You?
Once the applicant lodges their application, NCAT notifies you as the respondent and sets the matter down for a listing. The notice you receive identifies the applicant, the orders they are seeking, and the date, time, and location of the first listing. This does not mean that a claim has been successfully brought against you.
Depending on the type of matter, that first listing may be directions, a conciliation and hearing, a mediation, a case conference and hearing, or a final hearing (the case is decided on the same day).
The date on your notice is your deadline. You should begin preparation immediately.
First Steps After Receiving an NCAT Application
Work through these steps as soon as the application arrives:
- Read the application, orders sought and why: Identify exactly what the applicant is asking the Tribunal to order and why;
- Note the listing date immediately: NCAT can proceed and make orders in your absence;
- Check whether NCAT has jurisdiction: NCAT is a tribunal with specific statutory categories and monetary limits, not a general court. If the claim does not fit, that may be a threshold objection (see below);
- Gather your evidence: Collect contracts, quotes, invoices, emails, text messages, photographs, payment records and everything that may support your version of events:
- Consider whether you have your own claim (a cross-claim) and/or whether you wish to settle the dispute;
- Get legal advice before the first listing; and
- Decide on representation early: In many NCAT matters you need the Tribunal’s permission (leave) to be represented by a lawyer, and that request should be made before or at the hearing.
Do You Need to File a Defence in NCAT?
Unlike court proceedings, most NCAT matters do not require a formal defence document to be filed. In many matters in the Consumer and Commercial Division, you respond by attending the listing and presenting your evidence and submissions.
However, NCAT may make directions requiring the parties to exchange documents and evidence by set dates before the hearing. If directions are made in your matter, comply with them fully and on time. Failing to comply with directions can result in your evidence being excluded or the matter being decided against you.
This is a genuine difference from court procedure. If you are weighing up how tribunal and court processes compare more broadly, see our guide on whether NCAT or court is the right forum for a commercial dispute.
Check Whether NCAT Can Hear the Claim
NCAT can only hear matters that fall within its specific statutory categories and limits. Before preparing a defence on the merits, check whether the claim belongs in NCAT at all. Points to consider include:
- Subject matter: Is the claim actually a consumer claim, retail lease dispute, home building dispute or another category within NCAT’s jurisdiction? A general business-to-business debt or contract claim may not be.
- Monetary limits: NCAT currently states that consumer claims can be heard up to $100,000, and different limits apply to other categories.
- Federal jurisdiction: Following the High Court decision in Burns v Corbett, NCAT cannot determine matters involving federal jurisdiction; a common example is where the parties are permanent residents of different Australian States.
If the claim is outside NCAT’s jurisdiction, that objection should be raised early. A matter commenced in the wrong forum can be dismissed or transferred, which changes the applicant’s costs position and your strategy.
Getting Leave for Legal Representation in NCAT
NCAT is designed so that many parties can appear for themselves, and in many matters a party needs the Tribunal’s permission to be represented by a lawyer or agent. A request for representation can be made before or at the hearing and should explain why representation is sought.
There are exceptions. In retail lease matters, parties may be represented by an Australian lawyer or agent without needing leave.
Even where you appear for yourself at the hearing, there is no restriction on obtaining legal advice beforehand. In practice, much of the value in NCAT matters comes from preparation: assessing jurisdiction, organising evidence, and knowing which orders to ask for or resist.
Making a Cross-Claim or Counter-Application in NCAT
If the applicant also owes you money or has breached their own obligations, for example, they are claiming a refund while still owing you for work performed, defending their application may not be enough. You may need to lodge your own application so that the tribunal can deal with both claims.
Timing matters here. Raising your own claim early allows the matters to be managed together. For disputes arising from business contracts, our contract and commercial disputes lawyers can assess whether you have a claim worth bringing.
What Happens If You Ignore an NCAT Application?
If you do not respond and do not attend, NCAT can hear and decide the matter in your absence. Enforceable orders may be made against you.
Seek legal advice if a decision has already been made in your absence. It may be possible to apply to have the matter reinstated or the decision set aside, but strict time limits apply and you will generally need to explain the non-attendance and show that you have a genuine case.
Settling an NCAT Claim Before the Hearing
Not every application should be fought. NCAT encourages resolution, and in the Consumer and Commercial Division conciliation is often built into the first listing. Settling early can make commercial sense where the claim has substance, because it limits time away from the business and avoids the risk of broader orders.
Any settlement should be recorded in writing.
Costs and Appeals in NCAT
Costs in NCAT are limited. Under section 60 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW), NCAT may award costs only if satisfied that there are special circumstances warranting an award. This cuts both ways: your exposure to the applicant’s legal costs is limited, but so is your ability to recover your own.
If the Tribunal decides against you, most NCAT decisions can be appealed internally to NCAT’s Appeal Panel, and NCAT states that appeals must generally be lodged within 28 days of being notified of the decision. Appeal rights are limited and deadlines are strict, so advice should be obtained promptly after an adverse decision.
How Citilawyers Can Help
Being on the receiving end of an NCAT application does not mean you are on the back foot. Respondents who assess jurisdiction early, comply with directions, and arrive at the hearing with organised evidence regularly achieve better outcomes than applicants expect.
At Citilawyers, we act for businesses and individuals responding to NCAT applications across NSW; assessing whether NCAT can hear the claim, preparing your evidence and submissions, seeking leave to appear where appropriate, and advising on settlement, cross-claims and appeals. For tribunal matters, speak with our NCAT commercial disputes lawyers. If your dispute belongs in court rather than NCAT, our civil and commercial litigation lawyers can act for you there.
Call (02) 9233 7737 to arrange a free initial phone consultation, or contact us today.
