5 decisions published by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal between 20 October to 26 October 2026, summarised in plain English. Each one links to the full published decision.
Motor vehicle dealers and car disputes
- Late appeal over a squeaking bumper refused: buyer kept to repair order, not a $4,000 payout (NCAT, 2026)
A used Audi bought from a Sydney dealer developed a squeak in the rear bumper, and the Tribunal ordered the dealer to replace the bumper rather than pay money. The buyer, who lives in Melbourne, appealed more than two months late because he did not want to deliver the car to Sydney, and the Appeal Panel refused to extend time and dismissed the appeal. - Appeal dismissed: NCAT had no power to hear a car claim by an owner who inherited the vehicle
A woman inherited a new MG from her late father two weeks after he bought it, and years later the car began stalling while being driven. The Appeal Panel dismissed her appeal, holding that NCAT had no jurisdiction over her claim because the car was never supplied to her by a business, so she was not a "consumer" under the Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW).
Strata and body corporate disputes
- Mould repair award of $10,635 set aside and sent back for a fresh hearing (NCAT, 2026)
A lot owner won consent orders for mould work on his unit, then came back to the Tribunal and was awarded $10,635 when the work was not done in time. On appeal the Appeal Panel found the Tribunal had misread what the owners corporation had actually done, set the $10,635 order aside and sent the case back to a differently constituted Tribunal, while refusing the owner's own cross-appeal for lost rent and medical costs.
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House rentals, bonds and tenancy
- Owner’s eviction case fails because her husband, not her, was the landlord on the lease (NCAT, 2026)
A property owner applied to NCAT to end a residential tenancy and get her property back so she could return it to short-term holiday letting, but the written tenancy agreement named her husband as the landlord. NCAT's Appeal Panel dismissed her appeal, agreeing that she was not "the landlord" under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) and so had no standing to bring the application.
Builders, renovations and building defects
- Builder wins appeal over strata defect orders; six-year time limit case sent back to be re-heard (NCAT, 2026)
An owners corporation of a 59-lot strata building sued the builder at NCAT over slab cracking, water ingress and drainage, and the Tribunal found some items were "major defects" and ordered the builder to rectify them. On appeal, the Appeal Panel granted leave, allowed the builder's appeal, sent the case back to the Tribunal to be determined again, and ordered the owners corporation to pay the builder's costs of the appeal.
Every NCAT decision we have summarised: NCAT cases. Thinking of applying? How to lodge a NCAT application.
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