The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales was a tribunal that specialises in resolving consumer disputes in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, a state of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction in respect of certain consumer claims with the normal civil courts of New South Wales. In other areas of

consumer law Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

, it has exclusive jurisdiction. It was created on 25 February 2002 and ceased to function on 31 December 2013, its function assumed by the

New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) is a civil law and administrative law tribunal in New South Wales established by statute on 1 January 2014. It replaced and aggregated the matters of a number of disparate tribunals. ...

(NCAT).

Current jurisdictional error issues for NCAT

In February 2017, the New South Wales Court of Appeal issued a declaration that the NSW Administrative and Civil Tribunal (NCAT) (which handles a range of small civil disputes), has no jurisdiction if one party lives in another state. This issue is currently under discussion in the NSW Parliament and is likely to be subject to amending legislation shortly.

History

The tribunal was created by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001 (NSW). It replaced the former

Fair Trading Tribunal of New South Wales {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2018 The Fair Trading Tribunal of New South Wales was a tribunal that had jurisdiction to deal with consumer disputes in New South Wales. It was established on 1 March 1999 and it was abolished on 25 February 2002. Hist ...

and the

Residential Tribunal of New South Wales {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2018 The Residential Tribunal of New South Wales was a tribunal which had jurisdiction to deal with tenancy disputes in New South Wales. It replaced the Residential Tenancies Tribunal of New South Wales (the former tribun ...

. The former tribunals had been criticised in the New South Wales Parliament for being unresponsive and slow. The current tribunal is the latest attempt to improve consumer dispute resolution in New South Wales.

Constitution

The tribunal consists of a Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons. Senior Members and Members are also appointed to the tribunal. Senior members hear more complex cases. The tribunal may also use assessors to determine particular issues. Assessors are generally experts in the field that there is a dispute in.

Structure

The Tribunal has eight Divisions, i.e. General, Motor Vehicles, Tenancy, Home Building, Commercial, Strata and Community Schemes, Residential Parks, and Retirement Villages. Some of the Divisions limit the amount of money that may be claimed (e.g. $25,000 in the General Division and $500,000 in the Home Building Division), but others have no upper limit. Registries of the tribunal are located in Sydney, Parramatta,

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

, Penrith,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Newcastle, Wollongong and Tamworth. Applications may lodged at those registries. The tribunal also sits at other country venues depending on the amount of work in those areas.

Divisional structure

The General Division deals with consumer claims in relation to goods and services, which may include faulty goods and work by traders not performed properly. The tribunal can award a maximum of $25,000. The Motor Vehicles Division handles disputes about new and used motor vehicles (including motor boats) and repairs. There is no maximum claim in the vehicle is new and used for private use. The Tenancy Division deals with breaches of leases, excessive rent increases, termination of the rental agreement, and the return of rental bonds. An order can be made up to $20,000 with respect to a rental bond or $10,000 for other matters. The Home Building Division deals with matters under

The Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The tribunal has jurisdiction to $500,000. The Commercial Division deals with disputes over credit contracts under the

Consumer Credit (New South Wales) Act 1995 (NSW) Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the Trust (social sciences), trust which allows one Party (law), party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party im ...

(which is also known nationally in Australia as the

Consumer Credit Code of Australia A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

) and the Credit Act 1984 . The Division also deals with disputes over the licensing and conduct of travel agents under the

Travel Agents Act 1986 (NSW) Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

, and commission fees charged by real estate agents licensed under the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 1941 (NSW). The Strata and Community Schemes Division deals with disputes under the

Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (NSW) In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

. These disputes relate to strata by-laws, maintenance levies, reallocation of unit entitlements, and alterations to common property. The Retirement Villages Division deals with disputes under the

Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW) Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. It deals with issues such the terms of a retirement village contract, the legality of a village rule, and the sale or lease of premises by a resident. The Residential Parks Division deals with disputes under the

Residential Parks Act 1998 (NSW) A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family resid ...

. Issues for dispute may involve the terms of the residential tenancy agreement, notices of termination, alterations and additions to dwellings, rent issues, rental bonds, and so on. The Residential Parks Division is rather unusual as it is one of the few divisions that has group hearings. Group hearings often have large numbers of applicants, and these applicants are usually represented by an advocate. These advocates normally work for organisations like the Tenants Advice Services, the

Affiliated Residential Park Residents Association The Affiliated Residential Park Residents Association Incorporated (ARPRA) is an incorporated non-profit association with a registered office in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1986 to represent residents of residential p ...

or the Northern Alliance of Park Residents Association.

Procedure

Parties are normally expected to run their own cases and pay their own costs, although legal representatives are allowed and costs may be awarded in certain circumstances. These restrictions are intended to make the Tribunal process quick, informal and affordable. Parties usually appear in person, but may also appear by telephone in certain circumstances.

Review

A party who disagrees with the determination of the Tribunal can apply for a rehearing if specific criteria are met. An appeal may be lodged with the

District Court of New South Wales The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a rang ...

on a question of law.

Peer Review Panel

The Peer Review Panel consists of the two Deputy Chairpersons and one other person appointed by the

Minister for Fair Trading The Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading is a minister in the Government of New South Wales responsible for administering legislation and policy in relation to consumer affairs and SafeWork regulation in New South Wales, Australia. ...

. The panel reviews matters referred to it by the Chairperson, Director-General of the Department of Fair Trading or the Minister, and in due course, provides advice in response. Matters considered by the Panel may include the investigation of complaints against Members, taking disciplinary action against them, and the educational and training needs of Members.

References

{{Reflist *Briefing Paper 11/2003 by Rowena Johns for the New South Wales Parliament https://web.archive.org/web/20060909234844/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/B135D7C99E9FF0F5CA256ECF00084FE5 Former New South Wales courts and tribunals New South Wales Consumer New South Wales Consumer Consumer protection in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 2002 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2013