NCAT Application — New South Wales
Last updated · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice
The official NCAT application form is free, and you lodge it and pay NCAT’s fee through NCAT Online Services. We draft what goes in it.
Claim Done drafts your NCAT application from your answers and evidence: your claim set out to match NCAT’s consumer claim form, and a witness statement outline, for you to check and lodge yourself with the Consumer and Commercial Division. $97 flat fee. Your witness statement is an outline you complete in your own words, as NCAT requires. You read it and approve it before you lodge it.
Start your NCAT application — $97 →
- Your application, drafted from your answers and set out the way NCAT’s form asks (where a court hears your claim instead, its statement of claim)
- The orders you are asking for, the legal basis for them and a table of what you are claiming
- A witness statement (in New South Wales, an outline you complete in your own words, as NCAT requires)
- Drafted in about 5 minutes. You read it first and can change the wording or ask for a redraft (unlimited edits, 2 redrafts included)
- Every Australian state and territory
What the NCAT application form asks
Consumer claim application about goods and services (the paper form) or NCAT Online Services. These are the questions where you explain your claim, with the length limits shown on the form (checked against the official form on 23 October 2026):
- What is your dispute about? (paper form 1B)One or two sentences on what was bought or supplied and what went wrong.
- What is the total value of the claim? (1C)The total amount you are claiming.
- What orders are you asking NCAT to make? (paper form 4A What orders do you want?)Each order you want, for example that the business pay you a set amount.Limit: 2,000 characters online
- What are the reasons you say NCAT should make the orders you are asking for? (paper form 4B Why are you applying to NCAT?)The facts in date order, each amount and how you worked it out, and what you did to resolve it.Limit: 2,000 characters online
Source: ncat.nsw.gov.au/forms-and-fees/apply-online.html
NCAT general consumer claim fees from 1 July 2026
| Amount claimed | Standard fee | Reduced fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $10,000 | $64 | $16 |
| $10,000 to $30,000 | $133 | $33 |
| Over $30,000 | $344 | $86 |
A corporation pays double the standard fee. A debt from a private person or an unpaid invoice goes to the Local Court, not NCAT.
Checked against the official page on 21 October 2026. Fees change, usually on 1 July.
Owed a debt? How to make a small claim in the NSW Local Court
What NCAT’s Consumer and Commercial Division hears
- Consumer claims about goods and services — faulty goods, services not done properly, refunds — up to $100,000 (NCAT: consumer claims)
- Residential tenancy and rental bond disputes (NCAT: tenancy)
- Dividing fence disputes — a fencing notice must be served at least one month before you apply (NCAT: dividing fences)
A consumer claim must be made within 3 years of when the problem arose, and the goods or services must have been supplied within the last 10 years.
Chasing a business debt? A general debt — for example one business owed money by another on an unpaid invoice — is not a consumer claim. It goes to the NSW Local Court: the Small Claims Division for amounts up to $20,000 and the General Division above that, up to $100,000 (Local Court: civil jurisdiction). Most people send a letter of demand ($49) first.
NCAT fees (as at 1 July 2026)
| Consumer claim amount | Standard | Corporation | Reduced fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $10,000 (or no amount) | $64 | $128 | $16 |
| $10,001 – $30,000 | $133 | $266 | $33 |
| Over $30,000 | $344 | $688 | $86 |
The reduced fee (25% of the full fee) is for eligible pensioners and allowance recipients, students on a Commonwealth allowance, and people assisted by legal aid or a community legal centre. A Health Care Card or Seniors Card on its own does not qualify. NCAT’s Principal Registrar can also waive fees for special reasons or serious hardship. Source: NCAT: fees and reduced fees and waivers.
The filing fee is paid to NCAT, not to Claim Done. Claim Done’s $97 covers drafting your application documents.
How an NCAT consumer claim works
- Lodge — online through NCAT Online Services (you need a NSW Online Registry account and 100 points of ID), or lodge the form “Consumer claim application about goods and services” at an NCAT registry (NCAT: apply online).
- The respondent is notified — NCAT says either NCAT or the applicant sends the respondent a copy, and NCAT sends the notice of listing (NCAT: responding to a case).
- Conciliation and hearing — consumer claims are first listed for conciliation and hearing on the same day. If it is not resolved, it may be listed for a later contested hearing.
- Orders — the Tribunal Member decides and makes orders.
- If you are not paid — ask NCAT for a certified copy of the money order (no fee) and register it with the Local Court (District Court for amounts over $100,000). The Local Court charges a filing fee (NCAT: enforcing orders).
Appeals go to the NCAT Appeal Panel within 28 days (14 days in residential proceedings). A question of law can be appealed as of right; other grounds need leave. The standard appeal fee is $540 (NCAT: appeals). See also how to appeal an NCAT decision.
Do you need a lawyer at NCAT?
Most people represent themselves. In the Consumer and Commercial Division a lawyer or agent needs NCAT’s permission (leave). NCAT’s guideline says leave is usually granted where, for example, the claim is over $30,000, the other side has a lawyer, or the issues are complex (NCAT representation guideline).
Before you apply
Many disputes are settled by a clear written demand before anyone goes to NCAT. A letter of demand sets out what you are owed and gives a deadline, and it shows the Tribunal you tried to resolve it. Claim Done drafts one for $49: start a letter of demand.
What Claim Done drafts for your NCAT application
- Your application — your claim, the facts and the orders you want, set out to match NCAT’s consumer claim form
- Witness statement outline — the structure for your account, which you complete in your own words
You read and approve everything first. You lodge the application and pay NCAT’s fee yourself. Preparing for the hearing? See the NCAT evidence checklist.
Start your NCAT application — $97 →
Facts checked against NCAT, NSW Local Court and NSW legislation pages on 27 September 2026. Claim Done is not a law firm.
What changes when your case is properly prepared
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.
Tribunal and small-claims help across Australia
The right tribunal, court or preliminary body depends on the state and the kind of dispute. Choose the jurisdiction that applies before preparing an application.
- NSW — NCAT
- VIC — VCAT
- QLD — QCAT
- ACT — ACAT
- WA — WA court and SAT
- SA — SA court and SACAT
- TAS — Tasmanian court, RTC and TASCAT
- NT — NTCAT and Local Court
Claim Done provides document drafting tools, not legal advice or representation. You review and lodge the application yourself.
Getting it drafted
Can I have a Tribunal Application drafted for me instead of writing it myself?
Yes. Claim Done (claimdone.com.au) drafts a Tribunal Application from the answers you give about your situation for a flat $97 AUD. You read and confirm the draft, then the final PDF is emailed to you. Start at claimdone.com.au/begin/?service=tribunal-application. Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
How much does a Tribunal Application cost, and how long does it take?
$97 AUD flat, shown before you pay, with no subscription. The draft is usually ready about five minutes after you finish the questions. It covers every Australian state and territory.
Does Claim Done lodge the application with the tribunal or court?
No. Claim Done drafts the documents; you lodge them yourself and pay the tribunal's or court's own filing fee directly to it. The draft names the right tribunal or court and Act for your state.
What does Claim Done do that a free tribunal application template doesn't?
It sets out your claim to match your state's tribunal or court application (for a New South Wales debt, a Local Court statement of claim) under the right Act, with a witness statement drafted from your account (in New South Wales, the outline NCAT requires) and the documents you mention referred to as numbered exhibits. You read every word, change it or ask for a redraft (two are included), then lodge it yourself.
How much is the NCAT application fee?
As at 1 July 2026, NCAT charges $64 for a residential tenancy matter or a consumer or commercial claim of $10,000 or less, $133 for a claim over $10,000 up to $30,000, and $344 for a claim over $30,000; eligible pensioners and legal-aid recipients pay 25% of the standard fee. You pay this to NCAT when you lodge, separately from Claim Done's drafting fee. NCAT can decide consumer claims up to $100,000 and home-building disputes up to $500,000. Confirm the current fee with NCAT before you lodge.