NTCAT evidence checklist: documents, witness statements and summonses for a small claims hearing

For an NTCAT small claim, your evidence is every document, photo, receipt, message, report and witness statement you rely on. You give copies to NTCAT and to the other party by the dates in the orders NTCAT makes in your case, not with your application. If you do not provide evidence the way the orders say, you may not be allowed to rely on it, so the checklist below is built around those dates.

Claim Done drafts a Hearing Bundle from your answers for a flat A$97: a chronology, a statement of issues, an evidence index, a position statement and draft orders, each as its own PDF.

Who this applies to

NTCAT hears civil claims for sums up to $25,000 (as at November 2026), according to its jurisdiction page. This checklist is for both the applicant, who started the claim, and the respondent.

When NTCAT accepts an application, it sends it back with standard orders. NTCAT’s making an application page says those orders apply to all parties and set out who has to do what and when. If you cannot meet an order, tell NTCAT immediately. The same page says to gather your documents and give them to NTCAT and the other side when ordered, because you may not be allowed to rely on evidence that was not provided that way.

Do not send evidence with your application. The guide to completing a Form 1 says not to attach it, and that NTCAT will make orders about how and when you provide it. If you claim money, the application must show each amount you claim.

What NTCAT expects from you

As the case goes on, NTCAT may make case management orders. Its case management orders information sheet says these can ask you to:

• submit your evidence by a set date
• file submissions by a set date
• say whether you want a witness present so you can cross-examine them.

If you need more time, apply on a Form 3 Ordinary Application. Evidence filed late is placed on the file, but the member hearing the case decides whether to allow it.

A directions hearing, if you have one, exists partly to make sure each side gets the other’s evidence. NTCAT’s types of hearings page says the orders usually require a party to do something by a date, such as serve their evidence. Not complying can lead to a costs order or to permission being refused to rely on evidence not provided on time.

The compulsory conference is different. The compulsory conference information sheet says to bring evidence that supports your claim or response. But what is discussed there cannot be used at a hearing unless it is also provided as evidence under the case management directions. Showing a document at the conference is not the same as providing it under those directions.

Your NTCAT evidence checklist

Filing and exchanging your evidence

NTCAT’s filing documents page says it prefers documents by email. If your evidence is too large to email, contact the Registry about sending it by File Transfer Protocol (FTP). If you cannot send documents electronically, NTCAT accepts hard copies by post or at the Casuarina or Alice Springs Registry.

Send copies, not your only originals. The tribunal proceedings information sheet says NTCAT keeps electronic case files. Hard copies and flash drives are scanned, then destroyed unless you ask for them back straight away. The same sheet says any correspondence you send NTCAT must also go to every other party, and you must not contact the tribunal member directly.

NTCAT’s communicating with NTCAT page says to quote your NTCAT reference number every time and to copy (cc) the other party on emails.

Keep proof that you served. The preparing for a hearing page says you may need evidence that you complied with an order, such as serving a document by a date. Under the NTCAT service guidelines, you prove service on a Form 6 Unattested Declaration. For email service, attach a read receipt or a reply. A delivery receipt alone is not enough.

Witnesses and witness statements

NTCAT’s witnesses page says you and your witnesses may give oral evidence, but NTCAT may require a written statement to be given to the other party before the hearing. Anyone giving oral evidence may be asked to take an oath or affirmation. The other side will usually be allowed to cross-examine your witnesses, and the member may ask questions too.

NTCAT’s forms page says the Form 6 Unattested Declaration is the form for witness statements. The Form 6 does not need to be witnessed, but making a declaration you know is false is a crime. Write only what the witness saw, heard or did, in date order.

If you want to question a witness named in the other side’s evidence, tell the other party and NTCAT as soon as possible, and before the deadline in the case management orders. Make sure your own witnesses are available on the hearing day.

Evidence summonses

Sometimes a person will not come to give evidence, or someone outside the case holds a document you need. NTCAT’s evidence summonses page says NTCAT may issue a summons ordering them to attend or produce documents. You do not need one if the person is willing.

The evidence summons information sheet says you file a Form 4 application and a draft Form 5 summons. A fee is payable once the application is granted. You then serve the summons by giving it to the person, or for a company to an executive officer, or to someone authorised to accept service.

On the hearing day

NTCAT’s day of the hearing page says that by the hearing, both sides will have exchanged their evidence and given it to NTCAT. Bring copies, on paper or on a device. A brief chronology of key events in date order often helps the member. NTCAT is not bound by the rules of evidence, and the member may rely on other evidence after giving you a chance to respond. Before the day, prepare a list of the important issues with the evidence for each one. For how the day itself runs, see what happens at an NTCAT small claims hearing.

How a hearing bundle is structured

The Claim Done bundle has five parts:

• Chronology of events. A numbered table of dates and events, earliest first, facts only.
• Statement of issues. Each point in dispute written as a question for the member to decide, with the orders you seek.
• Evidence index. Your exhibits numbered A1, A2 and so on, with a description, the date and the issue each one goes to.
• Position statement. A summary, the key facts and how the law applies to them.
• Draft orders. The exact orders you ask NTCAT to make, with amounts.

The bundle does not include witness statements and does not copy your documents. You still prepare any Form 6 statements, attach the exhibits themselves, and file and serve it all by the dates in your orders.

Mistakes to avoid

• Attaching evidence to your Form 1 instead of waiting for the orders.
• Missing the date in your orders. Late evidence may not be allowed.
• Emailing NTCAT without copying the other party.
• Relying on a delivery receipt as proof of email service.
• Sending your only original documents.
• Assuming something shown at the compulsory conference is part of your evidence.

If your orders have set a date and your papers are scattered, the Hearing Bundle puts your chronology, issues, evidence index, position and orders in order for a flat A$97, ready for you to check and file.