ACAT: check your papers, deadline and hearing preparation

Identify the case type before choosing a form

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal operates under the ACAT Act and other authorising laws. Its case-type guide covers civil disputes, residential tenancies, guardianship and property management, mental health, review of specified ACT-government decisions, utilities, occupational regulation, unit titles and other statutory matters. A listed category does not establish that every person can apply directly or obtain every remedy.

For ordinary civil disputes, the general monetary limit is $25,000, with interest or an amount in lieu of interest disregarded in the statutory calculation. Goods claims have their own value calculation. An excess may sometimes be abandoned or the parties may agree to ACAT deciding a larger claim under the statutory conditions. Common-boundary determinations have a separate exception. Obtain advice before giving up part of a claim.

Ordinary civil jurisdiction includes specified contract, debt, damages, goods and other claims, but excludes a Fair Work claim. ACAT is not a general employment tribunal. Territory connections, interstate parties, service and questions involving title to land can also affect the route.

For an ACT-government decision review, retain the decision, notice, reasons and the law identified in the notice. Reviewability, standing and timing depend on the authorising law and tribunal provisions. Discrimination and human-rights matters can require a statutory referral process; do not treat every complaint as a directly lodged civil debt case.

Use the correct form and preserve proof of filing

Read the current Procedures Rules with your directions and the official lodging and service guide. For an ordinary civil claim, identify the correct parties, addresses, orders sought, grounds and supporting records. The registrar ordinarily serves the sealed civil application and response. Other documents and case types can have different service or copying requirements.

A civil respondent should state what is admitted or disputed and why. A counterclaim, set-off or third-party notice has separate requirements; it is not enough to assume the initial response deadline and form cover everything. Not responding can permit a default decision, subject to the applicable rules.

Initial civil applications can be lodged in person, by post or online under the civil rules. Do not assume every document can be emailed. The current lodging practice note limits email use and sets document, attachment and payment conditions. Where the general webpage and a specific rule or direction differ, check the permitted method with the registry. Do not email payment-card details.

Lodgment generally has a 4.30 pm registry-day boundary under the rules, including for electronic documents. Sending something by post is not the same as its receipt. Keep the submission, receipt, payment or exemption request and any confirmation. Check applicable non-working-day rules rather than assuming every period means business days.

Follow the current communication practice note about copying parties, subject to protected-person, confidentiality and other specific exceptions. Do not write privately to a tribunal member or send extra material after a decision is reserved without permission.

Separate the response, reasons, review and appeal clocks

These selected periods have different starting events. Record the order date, decision date, notice date, service date and when you became aware of a decision separately. The table is not a deadline calculator for every ACAT jurisdiction.

Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.

The Act and Rules contain the qualifications. Administrative-review extensions have a specific rule and limits; they are not automatic and must not be confused with internal-appeal extensions. If a date is close or has passed, seek advice immediately and identify the actual route rather than waiting for reasons or a consultation.

A directions hearing can decide more than the timetable

Under the current civil process, a directions hearing can be the first listing. Conference, mediation and final hearing are available processes, not mandatory stages in a universal sequence. ACAT may make final orders at a directions hearing. Read the notice and prepare for what the tribunal can decide.

The directions-hearing guide asks parties to identify relevant documents, witnesses, preliminary issues and unavailable dates. Bring the application, response, notices, evidence and proposed orders. Explain what remains disputed and what directions or time you need. ACAT is less formal and not bound by ordinary evidence rules, but fairness, evidence and directions still matter.

Unless ACAT changes the listing or excuses attendance, attend. An adjournment request alone is not approval. If you are absent, the tribunal may decide without you, dismiss an application or make other orders depending on the case.

The current remote-participation practice note permits parties, representatives and witnesses to participate remotely or in person unless ACAT has ordered otherwise. Follow the actual attendance instructions, arrange the connection and check how documents will be used. Do not assume an older generic telephone-permission statement overrides a specific current order.

You can represent yourself or use a lawyer or other permitted representative under the representation rules. Required authority, contact details and tribunal control still apply. A friend is not automatically entitled to appear in every case. An initial consultation does not itself appoint someone to attend.

For an interpreter, contact ACAT at least five days before the hearing. ACAT says it will try to arrange a free interpreter, subject to availability. If unavailable, you may need to arrange an accredited interpreter at your cost. Document translation is separate. Raise disability access and other assistance needs early.

Check privacy and settlement conditions before sharing material

Hearings are ordinarily public, and private-hearing and publication restrictions require the applicable law or order. Guardianship hearings are generally public; sensitive subject matter does not itself make every hearing confidential. Mental-health hearings have a separate private default under section 194, with specified adult-request or tribunal-order exceptions.

A closed hearing, a publication restriction, protected documents and confidential settlement discussions are different matters. Ask for the protection needed and follow the resulting directions. Do not assume that being given a report permits publishing it online.

A conference or mediation may help resolve the dispute. Confidentiality has statutory qualifications. Understand any proposed settlement, payment dates, releases and orders before agreeing. A conversation about settling does not by itself cancel a hearing or an existing direction.

Match the filing fee to the claim and applicant

These selected Australian-dollar filing fees apply from 1 July 2026 under the current determination. GST is not applicable to these listed tribunal fees. Check the full ACAT fee guide for the particular application, exemptions and additional services; these are not the total cost of a case.

Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.

The higher corporation category excludes a not-for-profit corporation, a corporation with turnover below $200,000 in the previous financial year and the housing commissioner. Exactly $3,000 belongs in the lower ordinary civil band. A tribunal fee is separate from private legal fees.

Check exemption, hardship relief and potential costs separately

Primary holders, not dependants, of the specified Services Australia Health Care, Low Income Health Care or Pensioner Concession cards, or DVA Pensioner Concession cards, can qualify for the prescribed exemption. Qualifying legal assistance under the Legal Aid Act and specified approved legal-service arrangements have their own conditions and evidence requirements. A call to an information helpline does not by itself establish an exemption.

Hardship waiver, partial waiver and deferral are separate decisions under the Court Procedures Act. Use the correct request and supporting financial evidence. A fee-decision review is available without a review fee, but identify the applicable notification and review rules promptly. Do not assume refusing to pay preserves a filing date.

Some protective, utility or referral applications have no filing fee. Other documents, counterclaims, hearing days, subpoenas and services may attract fees. Check the actual item; an exemption or no-fee initial application is not a reason to assume every later service or appeal is free.

Parties ordinarily bear their own legal costs, subject to other law and the statutory costs exceptions. Necessary fees, unreasonable delay or obstruction, and failures to follow orders can matter. There is no universal loser-pays rule or guarantee that no costs can be ordered against you.

Choose the right step after an order or missed hearing

For a request for written reasons, identify the order and the 14-day period above. For an internal appeal, identify appeal eligibility, the orders challenged, grounds, required documents, fee or relief request and the separate 28-day period. Not every ACAT decision can be appealed internally. Certain statutory decisions and further appeals have distinct Supreme Court routes and leave requirements. This guide does not give a Supreme Court appeal deadline.

An appeal or review does not automatically suspend the order. Ask promptly about a separate stay if enforcement or another action must be paused; neither a stay nor an extension is guaranteed.

If an order was made in your absence, a set-aside application may be relevant under section 56 and rule 70. Explain the absence, act promptly and show the case you want considered. This is not the same as an appeal and is not automatically granted.

An order and collection of money are different. Enforcement may require registration or separate court steps; ACAT does not automatically collect an unpaid debt for you. Keep the final order, payment records and any enforcement notice and obtain advice about the appropriate route.

Prepare these eight items before the next step

Put the nearest deadline and hearing date at the front. This checklist helps organise advice or tribunal preparation; it is not an instruction to send every document to every service.

1. The complete application, response, decision or order, with envelope/email and evidence of when and how it was served or received.
2. Every hearing notice and direction, including attendance method, filing dates and what has already been lodged or served.
3. Correct names and contact details for the parties, company information and authority to act where relevant.
4. The contract, tenancy agreement, invoices, payments, photographs or other records supporting the actual issue; retain originals.
5. A short chronology, a clear calculation of money claimed or disputed, and the precise orders or outcome you want.
6. Relevant correspondence, any settlement proposal and proposed witnesses, including what each witness can explain.
7. For a review, appeal or missed hearing: the complete decision and reasons, relevant notices, grounds or absence explanation and any urgent enforcement issue.
8. Concession or legal-assistance evidence, financial documents for a fee-relief request, and interpreter, access or safety needs to raise early.

Follow confidentiality orders and lawful disclosure requirements. Ask the receiving service for a secure channel. The platform privacy policy explains intake records, sharing and processing; an AI conversation is not automatically privileged legal advice.

Official help and free legal information

Match the service to the issue. Information, an advice appointment, a duty service and an ongoing legal-aid grant are different. Availability and eligibility apply; contacting a service does not preserve a deadline.

ACAT questions and next steps

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