NCAT Fees 2026: What It Costs to Lodge a Claim in New South Wales

Lodging a consumer claim at NCAT costs $64 if the claim is worth $10,000 or less, $133 if it is over $10,000 and up to $30,000, and $344 above $30,000. Those are the standard fees in NCAT’s schedule of fees and charges, which applies as at 1 July 2026. Corporations pay double. Eligible pensioners, students on a Commonwealth allowance and people assisted by legal aid or a community legal centre pay a reduced fee of 25%.

The tribunal fee is only half the cost. The other half is the application itself: the claim, the amount, the orders you want and the evidence behind them. Claim Done drafts a Tribunal Application from your answers and documents for a flat $97. You review and approve it, and you lodge it with NCAT yourself. On a claim under $10,000, the tribunal fee and the document together come to $161.

NCAT fees 2026 by claim amount

These are the Consumer and Commercial Division fees as at 1 July 2026, copied from NCAT’s fee page (last updated 26 June 2026). “Standard” is the individual rate.

Run the numbers and two things stand out. At the bottom end the fee is small next to the claim: $64 on a $10,000 claim is 0.64% of the amount. At $30,000 the $133 fee is under half a percent. The expensive line in that table is not the application at all. It is the internal appeal, at $540 for an individual, which is more than eight times the entry fee.

The second thing is the step at each boundary. A claim of $10,000 attracts the $64 fee; a claim of $10,050 attracts $133. That is more than double the fee for $50 more in claim. Nobody should shave a genuine claim to fit a band, but it is worth checking that the figure you put on the form is the figure your invoices, quotes and receipts actually support. A padded number costs you twice: once in the fee, and again when the member asks you to prove it.

Who pays the fee, and whether it comes back

The applicant pays, at the point of lodging. NCAT describes its schedule as fees “for applications, appeals and other services”. For consumer claims in the Consumer and Commercial Division, NCAT’s page for respondents describes no response form: the respondent receives a notice of listing and attends the conciliation and hearing. A respondent who wants to bring a cross-claim, where the legislation allows one, is starting their own application and should check the schedule for it.

If you trade through a company and the company is the consumer that bought the goods or services, the company is the one with the claim, so expect the corporation column: $128, $266 or $688.

Can you recover the fee from the other side if you win? NCAT’s fee schedule and its reduced-fees page do not say the fee is refunded or passed on to the losing party. Treat the $64 to $344 as money spent, and read NCAT’s own guidance on costs before you count on getting any of it back.

You lodge through NCAT Online Services, which needs an Online Registry account and 100 points of ID, or with the PDF form “Consumer claim application about goods and services” at an NCAT registry. NCAT says the online service is available for all Consumer and Commercial Division case types.

Reduced fees and fee waivers

The reduced fee is 25% of the full fee: $16, $33 or $86 for a consumer claim, depending on the band. According to NCAT’s reduced fees and fee waivers page (last updated 14 July 2026), it is available to:

• people receiving an eligible pension, benefit or allowance
• full-time students receiving a Commonwealth student allowance
• people who have a grant of legal aid or help from a community legal centre

One trap catches people. NCAT states plainly that “a Health Care Card or Seniors Card alone does not make you eligible for a reduced fee.” Holding the card on its own is not enough.

Beyond the reduced fee, the Principal Registrar can waive any fee in whole or in part if satisfied there are special reasons, such as serious hardship. You ask using the “Request for fee waiver form”. You cannot request a waiver through NCAT Online, so if you need one, sort it out before you try to lodge online.

What NCAT hears, and why you may have seen $40,000

NCAT’s consumer claims page (last updated 2 January 2026) says it can hear a consumer claim “up to the value of $100,000”. These claims run through the Consumer and Commercial Division.

If you have seen $40,000 quoted, it comes from the Fair Trading Act 1987 itself. Section 79S(7) defines the prescribed amount as “$40,000 or such other amount as is prescribed”. Another amount is prescribed: clause 13A of the Fair Trading Regulation 2019 sets it at $100,000. The Act gives the default; the regulation overrides it. The working limit for a consumer claim is $100,000.

Two dates matter too. You must apply within 3 years of when the cause of action accrued, and the goods or services must have been supplied within 10 years. Once lodged, a consumer claim is first listed for conciliation and hearing on the same day. If it does not settle there, it may go to a later contested hearing, so arrive with your evidence in order. Our NCAT hearing evidence checklist sets out what to bring.

NCAT or Local Court? Check before you pay anything

This is the question that decides whether the fees above apply to you at all.

NCAT hears consumer claims: disputes about goods and services a consumer bought. A general debt is different. A business chasing another business for an unpaid invoice, or someone chasing a personal loan, goes to the Local Court of New South Wales, not NCAT. The Local Court’s Small Claims Division hears claims up to $20,000 and its General Division hears claims over $20,000 up to $100,000. Its own page lists “unpaid bills” and “loan agreements” among the disputes it deals with. Its fees are set separately; check them on the court’s site.

Lodging in the wrong forum wastes the one thing you cannot buy back, which is time. If your dispute is an invoice between two businesses, the Local Court is the place, and the usual first step is a written demand. A Letter of Demand from Claim Done costs $49. It sets out the debt, the deadline and what happens if it is not paid. Our New South Wales letter of demand page explains what goes in it. Not sure which tribunal covers your state at all? Our QCAT vs NCAT vs VCAT guide compares them.

Costs after the application fee

The lodging fee is the first cost, not necessarily the last. Budget for these if the case goes the distance:

• Appeal. An internal appeal to NCAT’s Appeal Panel costs $540 (corporation $1,080, reduced $135). You have 28 days from the notice of decision or the reasons, whichever is later, or 14 days in residential proceedings. The Notice of Appeal must be posted or lodged in person; NCAT says you cannot lodge it online. Our guide to appealing an NCAT decision covers what the panel will and will not look at.
• Enforcement. Winning an order and being paid are separate events. If the other side ignores a money order, you request a certified copy from NCAT, which is free, and register it with the Local Court (the District Court for amounts over $100,000). The Local Court charges a filing fee for that step.

What Claim Done costs and what you get

A Tribunal Application from Claim Done is $97, fixed, with no subscription and no hourly billing. You answer plain-English questions about what happened, tell us about your invoices, quotes, photos and messages, and Claim Done’s document engine drafts the application with the claim amount, the facts in order and the orders you are asking for. You read it, change what needs changing, and approve it. Then you lodge it with NCAT yourself, online or at a registry.

Here is the full out-of-pocket cost for an individual, using NCAT’s standard fees as at 1 July 2026:

• claim up to $10,000: $64 + $97 = $161
• claim over $10,000 to $30,000: $133 + $97 = $230
• claim over $30,000: $344 + $97 = $441

Compare that with paying a lawyer by the hour to draft the same document. Claim Done is not a law firm, and it does not promise an outcome. What it gives you is a clear, organised application that tells the member what you are owed and why.

If the other side is a business that sold you faulty goods or poor services, and your claim is within $100,000 and inside the 3-year window, start your Tribunal Application for $97. 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

Does NCAT cost money?

Yes. As at 1 July 2026, NCAT's standard fee for a consumer claim of $10,000 or less (or no amount) is $64, rising to $133 for claims over $10,000 up to $30,000 and $344 above $30,000. Corporations pay double. Eligible applicants pay a reduced fee of 25%, and the Principal Registrar can waive a fee for special reasons.

What is the NCAT application fee for a $15,000 consumer claim?

A claim over $10,000 and up to $30,000 falls in the middle band: $133 for an individual, $266 for a corporation and $33 at the reduced rate, as at 1 July 2026. Check NCAT's fee page on the day you lodge.

Can I get a reduced NCAT fee with a Health Care Card?

Not on the card alone. NCAT's reduced fees page says a Health Care Card or Seniors Card on its own does not make you eligible. The reduced fee is for people receiving an eligible pension, benefit or allowance, full-time students on a Commonwealth student allowance, and people with legal aid or community legal centre help.

Do I get my NCAT fee back if I win?

NCAT's fee schedule and reduced-fees page do not say the application fee is refunded or recovered from the losing party. Treat it as money spent, and read NCAT's current guidance on costs before counting on getting it back.

Can a business take another business to NCAT for an unpaid invoice?

General debts, such as one business owing another for an unpaid invoice, go to the Local Court of New South Wales rather than NCAT. The Local Court's Small Claims Division hears claims up to $20,000 and its General Division hears claims over $20,000 up to $100,000. A letter of demand is the usual first step.