Legal Comment by Mark Illidge

December 2009

The newly established Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) commenced operation on 1 December 2009. The tribunal was formed to enable people to seek civil and administrative justice through a single gateway. QCAT will take over the functions of a number of different tribunals as well as some review functions of the courts and other administrative bodies. Because of the wide variety of matters that QCAT will deal with, QCAT has been split into three divisions including; 

• Human rights matters - for matters previously dealt with by the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, the Guardianship and Administration Tribunal and the Children's Services Tribunal;
• Civil Disputes - for all matters previously dealt with by the Small Claims Tribunal, minor debt claims in the Magistrates Court (with an increased jurisdiction up to $25,000), retail shop lease disputes and civil disputes in the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal;
• Administrative and Disciplinary Matters - for matters previously dealt with by all existing disciplinary tribunals including health practitioners, lawyers, teachers, debts, engineers, plumbers and builders.

This division will also deal with reviews of government decisions, and liquor and gaming matters. QCAT is not a Court and has different rules to those of a court. It has to operate in a way that is fair, just, economical and speedy. Generally legal representation will not be allowed unless there are complex issues of fact and/or law to be determined. 

As a general rule each party will pay their own costs. However in limited circumstances the tribunal can require a person to pay another person's costs provided that it is in the interests of justice to make such an order. 

Decisions made by QCAT can be appealed as follows: decisions by non-judicial members to a tribunal within QCAT; and decisions by judicial members directly to the Court of Appeal.