What Happens After You Lodge a VCAT Application in Victoria

Expect to wait about 52 weeks from the day you apply to the day of your mediation or hearing. That is VCAT’s own published estimate for goods and services disputes, on its page How long a VCAT case takes (checked 11 October 2026). In the meantime, the next step is yours: you serve the application and every supporting document on each respondent. VCAT then sends an order setting a timetable for documents, about 16 weeks after it accepts the application according to one VCAT page and about 20 weeks after it receives it according to another. At the end of the timetable VCAT lists the case for mediation or a hearing.

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

It is easy to assume the hearing comes next and comes quickly. At VCAT it does not. This guide walks through each stage in order, what you have to do at each one, and the deadlines that apply after the decision. Every VCAT fact links to the VCAT page it comes from. The figures are for goods and services disputes, heard in what VCAT’s case pages call the Civil Claims List; residential tenancies and other case types have their own pages on VCAT’s site.

VCAT timeline at a glance

Sources: VCAT’s apply page, after-you-apply page, respondent page, fees page, appeals page and practice note PNCCL1 (effective 27 June 2026).

What the timeline looks like in real dates

Say you lodge on Monday 2 November 2026. Counting from that day, 16 weeks is Monday 22 February 2027 and 20 weeks is Monday 22 March 2027, so the timetable order should arrive in that window. VCAT’s general estimate of 52 weeks from applying puts your mediation or hearing around Monday 1 November 2027. These are VCAT’s own averages, not promises; plan for a year and keep your documents together for all of it.

Straight after lodging: you serve the respondent

VCAT does not serve your application for you. It sends the respondent its own notice, but PNCCL1 says it is the responsibility of the applicant to serve the application on each respondent with all the supporting documents that were filed with the Tribunal. In practice:

• Serve every respondent named in the application.
• Send exactly what you uploaded to VCAT, no more and no less.
• Record when and how you served each one, and keep a copy of what you sent.
• Check PNCCL1 for how service is to be done before you post or deliver anything.

You will need that record at the end: on the hearing day you give the Member a signed and completed declaration of service. If you have not lodged yet, start with how to lodge a VCAT application and our myVCAT application form guide.

The wait for the timetable order

VCAT’s two pages disagree on timing. The apply page says: “About 16 weeks after we accept an application in the Civil Claims List, we send a VCAT order that sets a timetable”. The after-you-apply page says about 20 weeks after VCAT receives your application. Neither page carries a “last updated” date, so we show both.

Use the wait. It is the best time to:

• Put your documents in date order and number the pages.
• Write your account of what happened, in date order, while you still remember the details.
• Ask anyone who saw what happened whether they will give a statement.
• Keep talking to the other side if there is a chance of settling. Put any offer, and any agreement, in writing.

Following the timetable and the directions hearing

The VCAT order sets a timetable for your supporting documents. Treat every date in it as a deadline and diarise them the day the order arrives. A directions hearing may also be held. At the end of the timetable, VCAT says: “we will decide whether your case will be scheduled for a hearing or mediation.”

If the respondent sends you evidence, read it as soon as it arrives. For an in-person hearing, VCAT’s respondent page requires them to send copies of the documents they plan to use as evidence at least 14 days before the hearing. A counterclaim by the respondent is a separate application.

Mediation or compulsory conference

If VCAT sends your case to mediation or a compulsory conference, a fee may apply, payable at least 5 business days before the first hearing day (VCAT fees). Go in prepared to settle as well as to argue:

• Bring all your documents, in order.
• Know your numbers: the full amount, the lowest figure you would accept, and how you got to each.
• If you act for a business, come with authority to agree a settlement.
• If you reach agreement, make sure its terms are written down before you leave, including the amount, the date for payment and what happens if it is missed. A deed of settlement records the terms in one document.

Preparing for the hearing

• Your documents: contracts, quotes, invoices, photos and messages, in date order with numbered pages and an index. Our VCAT evidence bundle guide and guide to preparing evidence cover this.
• Witness statements: signed and dated accounts from anyone who saw what happened, limited to what they saw or heard themselves.
• A short written outline: what was agreed, what went wrong, what it cost and the orders you want. Written submissions can help in a more involved case.
• Your declaration of service, signed and completed, for the Member.
• Fees: any hearing fee paid at least 5 business days before the first hearing day.

For a goods and services claim under $15,000 you will generally be presenting the case yourself: VCAT’s representation page says you generally can’t have a lawyer or other professional representative.

At the hearing

A VCAT Member hears the case. Keep to the facts and the documents, answer the Member’s questions directly, and let the other side finish before you respond. Hand up your declaration of service. The result is a VCAT order.

After the hearing: the order, appeals and enforcement

If the respondent did not turn up

A respondent who missed the hearing can apply for a review and rehearing. VCAT’s respondent page says they need to make that application within 14 days of finding out about the order.

Appeals

An appeal is only on a question of law, and only with leave, to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria (or the Court of Appeal if VCAT’s President or a Vice President made the decision). It must start within 28 days of the date of the VCAT order (VCAT: appeal a decision).

If they do not pay

VCAT does not enforce its own orders. You email VCAT with your reference number and the date of the order, and VCAT forwards it to the court. Where the amount is $100,000 or less, the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria can enforce it; above that, the County Court or Supreme Court. A court fee is payable (VCAT: enforce an order). The enforcement options and what each costs are in our guide to enforcing a VCAT order in Victoria.

How Claim Done helps with VCAT applications

If you have not lodged yet, Claim Done’s Tribunal Application drafts your application from your answers and evidence for a flat $97. You check it, then you lodge it through myVCAT, pay VCAT’s fee and serve the respondent. Start your Tribunal Application.

If the other side has not paid yet and you have not sent a demand, a Letter of Demand ($49) gives them a written, dated chance to pay before you apply. If an application has been served on you, the Tribunal Response ($129) drafts your response, chronology and evidence list; see how to respond to a VCAT application. Claim Done does not lodge or serve anything for you, and is not a law firm.

Frequently asked questions

What happens after I lodge a VCAT application?

You serve the application and all supporting documents on each respondent. VCAT then sends an order setting a timetable for documents, a directions hearing may be held, and at the end of the timetable VCAT decides whether the case goes to a hearing or to mediation.

How long after lodging will I hear from VCAT?

VCAT’s apply page says it sends the timetable order about 16 weeks after it accepts an application in the Civil Claims List; its after-you-apply page says about 20 weeks after it receives it. Both were read on 27 September 2026.

How long does it take to get a VCAT hearing?

For goods and services disputes, VCAT says that in general you should expect to wait 52 weeks from the time you apply to the date of your mediation or hearing. Its How long a VCAT case takes page gives about 52 weeks for building and construction and for retail and commercial lease cases too, and about 8 weeks for residential tenancy cases.

Does VCAT send my application to the respondent?

No. VCAT sends the respondent its own notice, but serving the application and supporting documents is the applicant’s job under practice note PNCCL1. You give the Member a signed declaration of service at the hearing.

Does the respondent have to file a response?

VCAT’s respondent page for goods and services disputes does not set out a response form or a deadline to respond. It does require the respondent to send the applicant copies of their evidence at least 14 days before an in-person hearing.

Can I settle my VCAT case after lodging?

Yes, you can keep negotiating at any stage. Put any agreement in writing, including the amount, the payment date and what happens if payment is missed, and check VCAT’s pages for how to tell the tribunal your case has settled.

Can I appeal a VCAT decision?

Only on a question of law, with leave, and you must start within 28 days of the date of the VCAT order.

How long does VCAT take to make a decision?

For some cases, such as residential tenancy disputes, the Member usually makes a decision and gives an order at the end of the hearing. For others, VCAT says it can take several weeks for a decision to be issued after the hearing. If you were given the reasons verbally, you can ask for them in writing within 14 days of the hearing.

How can I check the status of my VCAT application?

Goods and services cases lodged from 6 December 2023 are in myVCAT, VCAT’s online portal, which shows your application details, documents, tasks, reminders and orders. Log in with the account you applied with. For a case lodged before then, contact VCAT.

Can VCAT enforce payment?

No. VCAT says it makes orders to resolve a case but can’t generally enforce them. If the other party doesn’t do what the order says, you need to apply to a court to enforce it. The “If they do not pay” section above covers the steps.

What happens after a VCAT hearing?

VCAT may give you the order in writing on the same day or send it to you after the hearing, and it must give the reasons for its final decision either at the hearing or later in writing. Any appeal must start within 28 days of the order, only on a question of law and with leave.

Facts checked against VCAT’s pages on 27 September 2026, with the wait times, decisions, myVCAT and enforcement answers re-checked on 11 October 2026. VCAT’s pages carry no “last updated” date, so each fact is linked to the page it comes from.