NCAT Application Form: Which Form or Online Option for Consumer, Tenancy and Fence Claims

For a consumer claim, a tenancy dispute or a dividing fence dispute in New South Wales, the simplest NCAT application route is NCAT Online Services, which NCAT says is available for all Consumer and Commercial Division case types. You need a NSW Online Registry account and 100 points of ID; if you want paper instead, the consumer claim form is the PDF “Consumer claim application about goods and services”, lodged at an NCAT registry (NCAT: apply online, last updated 10 April 2026).

Picking the form takes five minutes. Filling it in properly is the part that shapes your first hearing. Claim Done drafts the content of your application from your answers and evidence for a flat $97: the claim amount, the facts in order and the orders you want. You check it, approve it and lodge it with NCAT yourself. Start a Tribunal Application.

NCAT application form: which option for what you want to do

Every row below comes from NCAT’s own pages, or the Local Court’s, with the date each page carried when we checked it on 27 September 2026. Where a row says to check NCAT’s forms page, that is because we have not verified a form name for it, and we will not guess one.

Look down the middle column and one thing stands out. Three of the jobs in that table cannot be done inside NCAT Online at all: the fee waiver request, the Notice of Appeal and the fencing notice to your neighbour. The online system handles the application. The paper edges are still yours.

Applying through NCAT Online Services

Have three things ready before you log in.

First, the account. NCAT Online Services runs through the NSW Online Registry, and registering needs 100 points of ID. Sort that out the day before, not at 11pm on the night you meant to lodge.

Second, the claim itself: the respondent’s correct name, the amount, what went wrong and when, and the orders you want NCAT to make. Half-formed answers here are the ones that come back to bite you at the hearing.

Third, the fee. NCAT’s schedule of fees at NCAT as at 1 July 2026 puts a consumer claim at $64 for claims of $10,000 or less (or no amount), $133 for claims over $10,000 up to $30,000, and $344 above $30,000, at the standard rate. Corporations pay $128, $266 or $688. Residential tenancy proceedings are $64. The full breakdown, including who qualifies for the 25% reduced fee, is in our NCAT fees 2026 guide.

NCAT says the online service covers all Consumer and Commercial Division case types. That division manages consumer claims (consumer claims, last updated 02 January 2026), tenancy and social housing (tenancy) and dividing fences (dividing fences). For the three claims most people arrive here looking for, one login does the job.

There is one catch. If paying the fee would cause you serious hardship, NCAT’s Principal Registrar can waive it in whole or in part where there are special reasons. You ask with the “Request for fee waiver form”, and NCAT’s page is blunt about the channel: you cannot request a fee waiver via NCAT Online. Plan for that piece of paper before you start, and check NCAT’s waiver page for how to hand it in. Note too that a Health Care Card or Seniors Card alone does not make you eligible for the reduced fee.

The paper route: “Consumer claim application about goods and services”

If you would rather fill in a PDF than an online application, the consumer claim form carries exactly that name and is lodged at an NCAT registry. Download it fresh from NCAT’s forms page rather than reusing a copy someone emailed you last year.

Before you fill in a single box, check two limits on NCAT’s consumer claims page. The claim must be worth no more than $100,000. You must apply within 3 years of when the cause of action accrued, and the goods or services must have been supplied within the last 10 years. Check both before you pay a fee.

Online or paper, the tribunal reads the same thing: who owes what, how much, and why. The channel changes how you submit the claim. It does not change what you have to prove.

Tenancy claims

Tenancy and social housing cases are managed through the Consumer and Commercial Division, according to NCAT’s tenancy page. The fee for residential proceedings is $64 at the standard rate as at 1 July 2026, or $16 at the reduced rate. Use NCAT Online Services if you can; for a paper form, go to NCAT’s Consumer and Commercial Division forms page and pick the one that matches your dispute.

Tenancy has a shorter fuse after the decision, too. The appeal window in residential proceedings is 14 days, not the usual 28, counted from the notice of decision or the reasons, whichever is later (appeal an NCAT decision). Our guide to appealing an NCAT decision covers the rest.

Fence claims: the notice comes first

A dividing fence application is the one where lodging early gets you nowhere. NCAT’s dividing fences page says you must serve, meaning formally give, your neighbour a Fencing Notice at least 1 month before applying to NCAT. Write down the date you served it, add a month, and do not lodge before then.

Claim Done drafts the notice itself: see the dividing fences notice. If the month passes and nothing happens, the application goes through NCAT Online Services like any other Consumer and Commercial Division case, and Claim Done’s Dividing Fence tribunal application is $97.

NCAT or Local Court? Check before you pick any form

Before choosing an NCAT form, make sure NCAT is the right place at all. A consumer claim is about goods or services. A general debt, for example one business owed money by another on an unpaid invoice, is not a consumer claim, and no NCAT form fits it.

That money goes to the Local Court. Its civil jurisdiction page says the Small Claims Division hears claims up to $20,000 and the General Division hears claims over $20,000, up to $100,000 (Local Court: civil jurisdiction).

The usual first step for a business debt is a letter of demand. It sets out what is owed, gives a deadline, and puts on record that you asked before going further. Claim Done drafts one for $97: start a Letter of Demand.

After you lodge

NCAT’s page for respondents says either NCAT or the applicant will send the respondent a copy of the application and any attached documents, and NCAT sends a notice of listing (responding to a case, last updated 28 January 2025). Consumer claims are first listed for conciliation and hearing on the same day. If the dispute is not resolved then, it may be listed for a contested hearing on a later date (consumer claims).

That same-day listing is why the application deserves care. The member and the other side read your claim before you say a word, and at conciliation it is the document both sides argue from. Pull your evidence together with our NCAT evidence checklist.

If you win and the other side still does not pay, ask NCAT for a certified copy of the money order (there is no fee for it) and register it with the Local Court, or the District Court for amounts over $100,000.

What Claim Done does, and what you still do

A Tribunal Application from Claim Done is $97, fixed, with no subscription and no hourly billing. You answer plain-English questions about what happened and tell us about your invoices, quotes, photos and messages. Claim Done’s document engine drafts the application: the parties, the claim amount, the facts in date order and the orders you are asking NCAT to make. Our NCAT application page lists exactly what is included.

Then you do three things Claim Done does not. You choose online or paper. You lodge the application with NCAT. You pay NCAT’s fee. Claim Done never lodges or serves documents for you, and it is not a law firm.

On a claim of $10,000 or less at the standard rate, that is $97 for the document plus $64 to NCAT: $161 all up, as at 1 July 2026.

If you have a consumer, tenancy or fence claim within NCAT’s limits, start your Tribunal Application for $97. You get a draft to read and change before anything is lodged. If the money is a business debt, start with a Letter of Demand for $49 and keep the Local Court in reserve.

Frequently asked questions

Can I lodge an NCAT application online?

Yes. NCAT says NCAT Online Services is available for all Consumer and Commercial Division case types, which covers consumer claims, tenancy and dividing fences. You need a NSW Online Registry account, and registering requires 100 points of ID.

What is the NCAT form for a consumer claim called?

The PDF form is called "Consumer claim application about goods and services" and is lodged at an NCAT registry. You can skip the paper and apply through NCAT Online Services instead. Consumer claims can be up to $100,000 and must be made within 3 years of when the cause of action accrued.

Can I ask for an NCAT fee waiver online?

No. NCAT's reduced fees and fee waivers page (last updated 14 July 2026) says you use the "Request for fee waiver form" and cannot request a fee waiver via NCAT Online. The reduced fee of 25% of the full fee is a separate concession with its own eligibility rules.

How long do I have to wait before applying to NCAT about a dividing fence?

NCAT's dividing fences page (last updated 19 June 2026) says you must serve your neighbour a Fencing Notice at least 1 month before applying to NCAT. Keep a record of the date you served it.

Does an unpaid invoice from another business go to NCAT?

A general debt, such as one business owed money by another, is not a consumer claim. It goes to the Local Court: the Small Claims Division hears claims up to $20,000 and the General Division hears claims over $20,000 up to $100,000. A letter of demand is the usual first step.