Return to normal view

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is a centralised resource for dealing with a broad range of disputes.

Types of disputes handled by VCAT include:

• purchase and supply of goods
• credit
• discrimination
• domestic building works
• guardianship and administration
• legal profession services
• owners corporations (body corporate)
• residential tenancies
• retail tenancies.

VCAT also deals with disputes between people and government in areas such as:

• land valuation
• licences to carry on businesses (including travel agents, motor car traders and others)
• planning and environment
• state taxation
• other government decisions (such as Transport Accident Commission decisions and freedom of information issues).

VCAT has three divisions: Civil, Administrative and Human Rights. Each division handles a different set of disputes, which are grouped into Lists (such as Legal Practice List, Taxation List and Guardianship List).

Although each List is governed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998, processes can vary between Lists, mainly because the individual cases are so different. One case may take 15 minutes to resolve, while others may take a day or even several weeks.

Further information

For more comprehensive information about VCAT, including dispute resolution, application process, fee, forms and guidelines visit the VCAT website.

Legislation

VCAT was established by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998. Visit the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website, then click on ‘Victorian Law Today’ to access the following legislation and the related disclaimer statement.