Yes, QCAT costs money. To start a minor civil dispute you pay $96.30 if you claim $1,000 or less, $164.30 for more than $1,000 up to $10,000, $405.60 above $10,000, and $119.00 if you are not claiming a sum at all. Those are the fees on QCAT’s fees and allowances page as at 27 September 2026. QCAT says they rose 3.4% on 1 July 2026 under the government’s indexation policy, so check the page on the day you lodge.
For the forms, fees and each step, see our guide to making an QCAT application.
The fee is only part of the cost of getting to a hearing. The other part is the paperwork. Claim Done’s Tribunal Application drafts your QCAT application and witness statement from your answers for a flat A$97. You lodge it with QCAT and pay QCAT’s fee yourself.
QCAT minor civil dispute fees at a glance
Minor civil disputes are QCAT’s everyday money and consumer matters. They include unpaid debts (minor debt claims), consumer and trader disputes, residential tenancy disputes, and dividing fence or pool barrier disputes. One fee table covers them, based on the amount you claim.
| Amount you claim | QCAT application fee (as at 27 Sep 2026) | Fee as a share of the top of the band |
|---|---|---|
| No amount claimed | $119.00 | n/a |
| Not more than $1,000 | $96.30 | 9.6% of $1,000 |
| More than $1,000, not more than $10,000 | $164.30 | 1.6% of $10,000 |
| More than $10,000 (up to the $25,000 limit) | $405.60 | 1.6% of $25,000 |
The last column is our arithmetic, not QCAT’s. It shows the point that matters for small claims: the fee is a far bigger bite out of an $800 claim than a $20,000 one. On a $500 unpaid invoice, $96.30 is almost a fifth of what you are chasing.
The ceiling is $25,000, excluding interest. QCAT’s consumer and trader disputes page (last updated 4 August 2026) says a bigger claim can be reduced to $25,000 to fit. Minor debt claims have the same $25,000 limit, per QCAT’s debt disputes page. The one exception is a motor vehicle claim against a licensed motor dealer, which QCAT can hear up to $100,000. If your dispute is about a motor vehicle, look up the fee for that claim type on QCAT’s fees page rather than assuming the table above applies.
Where the jumps are: $1,000 and $10,000
The bands have hard edges. Claim exactly $1,000 and you pay $96.30. Claim $1,050 and you pay $164.30, which is $68 more for the extra $50. The bigger step sits at $10,000: one dollar over it and the fee goes from $164.30 to $405.60, an increase of $241.30.
So do the sum before you settle on the figure. Say your claim is $10,300, made up of a $9,800 invoice plus $500 of costs you are less sure you can prove. Leaving out the $500 keeps you in the lower band and saves $241.30 in QCAT fees. You give up $500 of claim to save $241.30, so it only makes sense if you doubt that $500 would survive the hearing anyway. Whatever you leave out, you are not claiming. That trade-off is yours, but the fee table makes it a real one.
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Who pays, and what else costs money
The applicant pays the application fee when lodging. QCAT’s table has one fee per band. Unlike Victoria and New South Wales, it has no higher corporate rate, so a sole trader and a company pay the same.
For comparison, as at 1 July 2026, NCAT charges individuals $64 for a consumer claim of up to $10,000 ($128 for a corporation), according to its fees page. VCAT charges $67.40 standard and $202.10 corporate from 1 July 2026 for a goods and services claim of up to $15,000, per its goods and services application page. A Queensland individual with a $5,000 claim pays $164.30, more than double the NSW standard fee for the same amount.
The respondent’s position depends on the type of dispute. QCAT’s page on responding to an application says respondents in consumer and trader, tenancy and dividing fence disputes do not have to file a response at all, though they can file a reply or evidence up to 7 days before the hearing. Minor debt is different: the respondent has 28 days from being served to file Form 7, Response to minor civil dispute – minor debt, or the applicant may seek a decision by default. A respondent who wants to bring their own claim in the same proceeding files a counter-application, and that carries its own fee.
Then there is service. QCAT gives you sealed copies of your application, and you have 7 days to serve them on the other side, according to QCAT’s application page for consumer and trader disputes. You can serve personally, by post, or through a bailiff or process server, and you then file Form 9, an affidavit of service. Posting it costs you a stamp. A bailiff or process server is an extra you arrange and pay yourself.
One cost you usually will not face is a lawyer’s bill for the hearing itself. Parties in minor civil disputes generally represent themselves, and QCAT’s appearance and representation page says it only gives permission for a representative if that is in the interests of justice (the request is Form 56).
Ready to put it in writing?
Claim Done drafts your letter, application, response or agreement from your answers, from A$29. You review and approve it before anything is sent or lodged. No lawyer's retainer, no subscription.
Fee waivers: who qualifies and who does not
QCAT will waive the whole application fee for financial hardship, but the test is narrow. On its fees page, the eligible groups are people on a full-rate pension or benefit, people under 18, protected persons under a current domestic violence order, and people with legal aid. You apply with Form 49, Application for waiver or reduction of fees by reason of financial hardship, plus copies of your supporting documents.
Two traps catch people:
- A Health Care Card is not a pension card. QCAT says so in plain words, so a Health Care Card on its own will not get you over the line.
- Businesses cannot get a waiver. Businesses, corporations, non-profit organisations and non-government organisations are not eligible. A sole trader chasing a business invoice should expect to pay the full fee.
For appeals, the hardship option is a reduced fee of $113.30 rather than a full waiver.
Appeal fees: the cost of round two
Losing a minor civil dispute does not give you an automatic appeal. You need leave (permission) from the QCAT Appeal Tribunal, and you have 28 days to apply, per QCAT’s page on appealing a QCAT decision. If leave is granted, the appeal itself must follow within 21 days.
The leave to appeal fee is $405.60 for claims up to $10,000 and $811.30 for claims over $10,000. Set that against the application fee. On a $900 dispute you paid $96.30 to start, and asking to appeal costs more than four times that. For small claims, the first hearing is effectively the one that counts, which is why the application and evidence deserve the effort up front.
What you get back if you win
Winning gives you an order, not cash. Three things are worth knowing about what follows.
First, whether the other side has to repay your QCAT fee. QCAT publishes its approach on its decisions awarding costs page. Read it before you count the fee as money you will see again. We have not stated a rule on this here, because the answer should come from QCAT, not from us.
Second, enforcement is cheap. If the other party ignores the order, you file a copy of the QCAT order and an affidavit, witnessed by a justice of the peace or a solicitor, in the Magistrates Court. QCAT’s page on enforcing a QCAT decision says it is free to file the order and affidavit, and that you have 6 years to enforce.
Third, timing. You have 6 years from the incident to start the claim, according to QCAT’s consumer and trader disputes page. Under QCAT Practice Direction 1 of 2026 (dated 26 June 2026), unless the Tribunal orders otherwise, claims up to $10,000 are referred to mediation and claims over $10,000 are listed for a hearing; residential tenancy disputes go to a hearing. QCAT’s consumer and trader page still describes an older $1,500 threshold, so go by the directions QCAT sends you. Our guide on how long QCAT takes for a consumer dispute covers the wait between those steps.
Spend $49 before you spend $164.30
The cheapest step comes before QCAT. A Letter of Demand from Claim Done costs A$49, less than any QCAT fee band. It puts the amount, the deadline and the next step in writing, you approve it before it is sent, and it goes to the other party by email. If they pay, you never lodge. If they ignore it, you have a dated written demand to attach to your application as evidence.
On a $5,000 claim the sequence costs $49 for the letter, then $97 for the Tribunal Application and $164.30 to QCAT if you have to lodge: $310.30 all up, with no hourly rate anywhere in it.
Where Claim Done fits
The Tribunal Application is built for Queensland applicants heading to QCAT. You pick your state and dispute type, tell us about the invoices, contracts, messages and photos you have, and Claim Done’s document engine drafts two things: the application document you file and a first-person witness statement. It costs a flat A$97, and you review it before anything happens.
Be clear about the split. Claim Done is not a law firm. The documents arrive as PDFs in your dashboard and your inbox, and you do the lodging, through QCAT’s QCase online portal or by filing the paper form with three copies at a Magistrates Court or at QCAT in Brisbane (Form 1 is the consumer dispute form; minor debt claims use a separate form). QCAT’s fee is paid by you, straight to QCAT, and serving the sealed copies within 7 days is your job too. Our step-by-step guide on how to file a QCAT application in Queensland walks through that part.
On the other side of a claim? If you have been served, read how to respond to a QCAT application, and the Tribunal Response (A$129) drafts your side of the story from your evidence.
Your next step: start your Tribunal Application. Tell us what evidence you have, answer the questions, and review the draft. Once it is ready, you lodge it with QCAT and pay the fee for your band from the table above. If you have not yet sent a demand, start with the Letter of Demand instead. See pricing for every service.
Frequently asked questions
How much does QCAT cost to file a minor civil dispute?
As at 27 September 2026, QCAT's application fee is $96.30 for claims of $1,000 or less, $164.30 for more than $1,000 up to $10,000, and $405.60 for more than $10,000. If you are not claiming an amount of money, the fee is $119.00. QCAT's fees are indexed and last rose on 1 July 2026, so check its fees and allowances page before you lodge.
Does QCAT cost money for the respondent?
In consumer and trader, tenancy and dividing fence disputes, QCAT says the respondent does not have to file a response. In a minor debt claim the respondent has 28 days from service to file Form 7. A respondent who brings their own counter-application pays a fee for it.
Can I get a QCAT fee waiver with a Health Care Card?
Not on the Health Care Card alone. QCAT says a Centrelink Health Care Card is not a pension card. The waiver covers people on a full-rate pension or benefit, people under 18, protected persons under a domestic violence order and people with legal aid, and you apply with Form 49.
Do businesses pay more at QCAT?
No. QCAT's minor civil dispute table has one fee per claim band, with no separate corporate rate. Businesses, corporations and non-profit organisations cannot get a fee waiver, though, so they always pay the full fee.
Do I get my QCAT application fee back if I win?
Do not assume it. QCAT explains how it deals with costs on its decisions awarding costs page, so read that before you count the fee as money you will see again. If you win and the other side will not pay the order, filing the order and affidavit in the Magistrates Court to enforce it is free.
What changes when your case is properly prepared
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.