QCAT Form 7: How to Fill In the Response to a Minor Debt Claim

QCAT Form 7 is the Response to minor civil dispute – minor debt: the form you file if someone has taken you to QCAT for a fixed or agreed sum of money. You have 28 days from the day you were given a copy of the application to file it and give a sealed copy to the applicant. There is no fee, and if you do nothing the applicant can ask QCAT for a decision by default.

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

This guide covers the form itself. For your options and defences, see how to respond to a QCAT application; for QCAT’s other forms, see QCAT forms explained.

Do you need Form 7?

Only if the claim against you is a minor debt claim: in QCAT’s words, a dispute “about an agreed and fixed amount of money up to $25,000 (excluding interest)”.

In a consumer and trader, tenancy or dividing fence dispute there is no response form. QCAT says you are not required to file a response, but you can file any reply or evidence up to 7 days before your hearing.

Go by the type of dispute, not the form number. A paper minor debt application (Form 3) carries a warning telling you to lodge Form 7 within 28 days, but a minor debt claim can also be lodged online through QCase, so you may never see “Form 3”. If unsure what you have been served with, ask QCAT before the 28 days run out.

The deadline: 28 days

The 28 days run from the day you were given a copy of the application, not the day it was lodged, so note that date. Within the 28 days you must file your response and give a sealed copy, with your supporting material, to every party named in the application.

Form 7, part by part

The current paper form is version 3. The top of the form says it must be filed at the registry where the original application was filed.

Part A: Application and matter details

Copy these from the application: the applicant’s name, the QCAT case number, and the registry (the QCAT registry or Magistrates Court where the claim was made).

Part B: Respondent’s details

Your name, ABN or ACN if any, postal address and contact details, which must be provided. A company uses its full name. If a business name has been named, the form says you must disclose all persons, partners or companies that carry on business under it. Extra respondents go on a separate sheet. If you want someone to represent you, you apply separately on Form 56.

Part C: Details of response

Tick and fill in whichever apply:

• “If applicable, I admit I owe: $”
• “I admit the following allegations in the application”
• “If applicable, I dispute that I owe: $”
• “I dispute the following allegations in the application, for the reasons set out below”

Attach a separate sheet if you run out of space. The form says you must attach copies of all relevant documents, such as agreements, contracts, invoices, receipts and colour copies of photographs.

Part D, checklist and signature

Part D asks about interpreter and access needs. The last page has a checklist and a warning that knowingly giving the registry false or misleading information is an offence under section 216 of the QCAT Act. You sign that the information is true to the best of your knowledge; if more than one respondent is named, all must sign.

Admitting part of the claim or disputing the amount

It need not be all or nothing. If, say, the applicant claims $4,000 and you accept $1,500 is owed (figures for illustration only), you put $1,500 against “I admit I owe” and $2,500 against “I dispute that I owe”.

Then show your working. Rule 45 of the QCAT Rules says the response must have attached a statement answering the applicant’s assertions and stating any amount you say you owe, how it is worked out and why. A short page taking each item of the claim in turn, with the document behind your figure, does that.

Can you make a counter-application?

Not in a minor debt claim. QCAT says you cannot file a counter-application in a minor debt dispute, and the QCAT Rules say the same. If you say the applicant owes you money, explain it in your response; a claim of your own is a separate application.

Fees

None. QCAT says there is no prescribed fee for lodging a response to a minor debt application.

How and where to file

Online: through QCase, QCAT’s online portal, where a respondent can request access to the case and lodge responding documents.

On paper: use the PDF on QCAT’s official Form 7 page and file it where the original application was filed: your local Magistrates Court, or QCAT, Floor 11, 259 Queen Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 (mail: GPO Box 1639, Brisbane Qld 4001). Filing in person or by post, include a stamped self-addressed A4 envelope.

On copies, QCAT’s own instructions differ: its web page says three copies plus one per extra party, the form’s checklist says one for each party plus one for the Tribunal, and the form’s instructions say two photocopies plus one per extra respondent. Check with the registry first.

Serving your response

When QCAT returns your response sealed, give a copy with your supporting material to every party named in the application, within the 28 days. QCAT’s service page lists post, personal delivery, email where the other party’s address for service includes one, and leaving it with an adult who lives or works at the address. QCAT warns that if you do not give your response to the applicant, a decision can be made against you without further notice.

What happens if you do nothing

After 28 days with no response, the applicant can ask QCAT for a decision by default, in their favour and without hearing from you. QCAT says it is enforceable against you in the courts.

You can apply on Form 55 to set aside or amend a default decision, explaining why you were late and including your response, but applying does not stop the decision operating unless QCAT orders a stay. QCAT can also extend a time limit on a Form 42 application, even after it has passed. It decides both, so filing on time is far safer.

Where Claim Done fits

The form is short; the work is in Part C and the statement behind it. Claim Done’s Tribunal Response ($129) drafts your response from your answers: what you admit, what you dispute and why, how any amount you accept is worked out, and the documents you rely on. You review it, then file and serve it yourself. Claim Done does not lodge anything for you.

Frequently asked questions

What is QCAT Form 7?

Form 7 is the Response to minor civil dispute – minor debt. A respondent uses it to answer a QCAT claim for a fixed or agreed sum up to $25,000 (excluding interest), saying what they admit, what they dispute and why.

How long do I have to file Form 7?

28 days from the day you were given a copy of the minor debt application. In that time you must file it and give a sealed copy to every party named in the application.

Do I need Form 7 for a consumer and trader dispute?

No. In tenancy, consumer and trader, and dividing fence disputes QCAT says you are not required to file a response. You can still file a reply or evidence up to 7 days before the hearing.

Is there a fee to file a QCAT response?

No. QCAT says there is no prescribed fee for lodging a response to a minor debt application.

Can I file a counter-application with Form 7?

No. A counter-application cannot be made in a minor debt dispute. Set out any money you say the applicant owes you in your response; a claim of your own is a separate application.

What happens if I miss the 28 days?

The applicant can ask QCAT for a decision by default, which is enforceable against you in the courts. You can apply on Form 55 to have it set aside or amended, but QCAT decides whether to grant that.

General information about QCAT’s forms and rules, checked against QCAT’s website and Queensland legislation in October 2026. It is not legal advice.