Neighbour Ignored Your Fencing Notice? How to Get Fencing Orders from NCAT, QCAT or the Magistrates’ Court

You did it properly. Two quotes, a written fencing notice with the boundary, the fence type, the cost and a 50/50 split, posted and handed over. The statutory month ran out on a Tuesday. Your neighbour has not replied, or replied with “not paying for your fence”, or has started arguing about where the boundary actually is. The old fence is still leaning into your yard.

For the forms, fees and each step, see our guide to making an NCAT application.

The notice was never the end of the process. It was the precondition. Every state’s fencing law says the same thing in different words: serve the notice, wait the period, and if there is no agreement, apply for orders. The application is where the fence actually gets built, because the order tells both of you what to build, who pays, and by when — and it is enforceable.

Your rights

Once the notice has been served and the waiting period has passed without agreement, you have a statutory right to apply. The forum does not decide whether you deserve a fence; it decides the four things you and the neighbour could not: the line the fence goes on, the kind of fence, how the cost is shared, and the time for the work. The default is a “sufficient” (or “basic” or “adequate”) dividing fence, paid for in equal halves. If you want something better than sufficient, you pay the extra. If the fence is needed because of something the neighbour did — their tree, their car, their demolition — the forum can put that cost on them.

One thing the forum cannot do: excuse a missing notice. In every state, an application without the notice (or filed before the period runs out) is dismissed or adjourned. Attach the notice and proof of service to the application. That is the first thing the member reads.

By state

• New South Wales. Dividing Fences Act 1991. Notice under s 11; wait 1 month (s 12). Apply to NCAT (Consumer and Commercial Division) or the Local Court (s 13) using the Commercial List Application. Orders under s 14: the line, the fencing work and kind of fence, the apportionment of contributions, which portion each owner builds, the time for the work.
• Victoria. Fences Act 1968. Fencing notice under s 13; wait 30 days (s 14). Apply to the Magistrates’ Court — not VCAT — by filing a Complaint (Fencing Dispute), Form 5A at the court nearest the land, fee scaled to the amount. Orders under s 30C: the common boundary and the line for the works, whether a fence is required, its nature, who does the work, each owner’s contribution, timing, and orders to stop conduct that damages the fence.
• Queensland. Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011. Notice to Contribute under s 31; wait 1 month. Apply to QCAT on Form 53 (Application for minor civil dispute — dividing fences) within 2 months of the notice. Orders under s 35: which fence is the dividing fence, whether it is sufficient, the line, the kind of work and fence, the share and amount each owner pays and when, who does the work, the time.
• Western Australia. Dividing Fences Act 1961. Notice under s 8; wait 21 days. Apply to the Magistrates Court nearest the fence under s 9 (minor case claim up to $10,000). Orders: the need for and kind of fence, the line, the portion each owner builds or pays, the time. Lodge any ex parte order with the council CEO within 21 days or you cannot recover.
• South Australia. Fences Act 1975. Notice of intention (Form 1) under s 5; the neighbour may cross-notice under s 6 within 30 days. If there is still a dispute, apply to the Magistrates Court (minor civil claims) under s 12 by Originating Application — Fences Act with an affidavit. Orders: whether a fence is erected, its nature, the line, who does the work and when, the cost split, access, compensation for loss of occupation.
• Tasmania. Boundary Fences Act 1908. Notice to Fence under s 9; the neighbour has 21 days to object (s 10). No objection and no agreement in 30 days: build it and recover half the cost plus 6% interest in the Magistrates Court within 2 years (s 12). An actual dispute about the line, the fence or the share goes to arbitration under s 26 (Part IV) — no tribunal.
• Australian Capital Territory. Common Boundaries Act 1981. “Notice to discuss the fence”; wait 30 days (14 if you already did urgent repairs). Apply to ACAT on the fence dispute application form. Orders under ss 4–8: the type of fence, where it goes, who arranges it, how much each party pays and when. Half the cost of a “basic urban fence” each.
• Northern Territory. Fences Act 1972. Written notice; wait 1 month. Apply to NTCAT (the Act’s “Tribunal”). NTCAT decides what a sufficient fence is for the locality and orders the kind, the line, each owner’s contribution and the time.

Fees change each 1 July; check the current fee on the tribunal’s or court’s website before you file.

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the application and witness statement to that state’s Act, section numbers, forum and form.

What to do right now

1. Check the dates. Date served, method, date the period expired. In Queensland, also the date two months from the notice — that is your filing deadline. Everywhere else, file as soon as the period has run.
2. Answer the objection in writing, once. If the neighbour said anything, reply in one short letter that restates the proposal and says you will apply on a date. That letter becomes an exhibit.
3. Build the evidence bundle. The notice; proof of service (tracking, a photo of the handover, the email); every quote; dated photos of the existing fence; a title search or plan showing the boundary; any council requirement (pool, heritage, height).
4. Draft the application around the orders. Members read the relief sought first. Ask for each order the Act allows, in the Act’s words: the line, the kind of fence, the contribution and payment date, who engages the contractor, the completion date, and the filing fee.
5. Write the witness statement as a timeline. Numbered paragraphs, one fact each, in date order, with every document exhibited. That is what wins on the day when the neighbour turns up with a story and no paper.

What you ask for, in the Act’s words

Do not write “I want them to pay half”. Write the order. In New South Wales: “an order under s 14(1)(c) apportioning the contributions for the fencing work equally”. In Queensland: “an order under s 35 that the respondent pay $3,200 being one half of the cost of a sufficient dividing fence, within 14 days”. In Victoria: “an order under s 30C determining that the respondent is liable to contribute one half of the cost of the fencing works”. Add the line order even if you think the boundary is obvious, because a contribution order without a line order invites the “that’s not the boundary” defence. Add the timing order so the neighbour cannot agree in the hearing and stall for a year afterwards.

Who to complain to

For the orders: NCAT or the Local Court (New South Wales), the Magistrates’ Court (Victoria), QCAT (Queensland), the Magistrates Court (Western Australia and South Australia), arbitration then the Magistrates Court (Tasmania), ACAT (Australian Capital Territory), NTCAT (Northern Territory). For a last try before filing, every state has a free mediation service: Community Justice Centres (New South Wales), the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria, Dispute Resolution Centres (Queensland), Community Mediation Services (South Australia), Conflict Resolution Service (Australian Capital Territory) and the Community Justice Centre (Northern Territory).

Get the order — $97

Claim Done drafts a Dividing Fence Dispute Application for your state — the parties, the boundary, the fence, the notice and its expiry, the quotes, the contribution and the numbered orders in the Act’s language — plus a first-person witness statement (in New South Wales, an outline you complete in your own words) with an exhibit list, for you to check, sign and lodge with the official form yourself.

Prepare My Fence Application — $97 →

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