Guide
Duties, breaches & compliance orders
A guide on renter obligations under the law and risks if they don’t comply with them.
VCAT hearings: a guide
What is VCAT?
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) makes decisions about a range of issues, including tenancy disputes.
Either the renter or the rental provider can apply to VCAT to resolve a tenancy dispute. A tenancy dispute could relate to, for example, repairs or eviction.
VCAT will set a hearing date. Both the renter and rental provider can attend and have their say. VCAT will make a decision about the dispute which must be followed by the renter and rental provider. We call this decision an ‘order’.
VCAT is less formal than a court and is meant to be accessible to people without legal representation.
VCAT matters are normally heard by a ‘Member’ rather than a judge; you can refer to them as Member or Mr /Ms (surname). If the matter is heard by a judge, you should refer to them as ‘Your Honour’, you will be told if this is required.
Attending VCAT
- Are VCAT hearings in person?
- Can I request a video call or in-person VCAT hearing for my client?
- How do I help a client prepare for a VCAT hearing?
- What if your client does not have legal assistance?
- What to expect at a VCAT hearing
Are VCAT hearings in person?
Before Covid, VCAT hearings were in-person unless there were exceptional circumstances.
During Covid, VCAT transitioned to phone and video conference hearings. Currently, most hearings are by phone aside from bond and compensation matters.
You should confirm how the hearing is being held.
Can I request a video call or in-person VCAT hearing for my client?
Your client will be given a phone number to dial in on for their hearing if it is taking place by phone. This number is not a freecall number and so you might want to discuss what support your client might need for the telephone hearing.
In some circumstances you may want to organise for a video call by Zoom. You can make a request to VCAT and include the reasons why a video call would be better for your client.
You can get specialised support at VCAT if your client has experienced family violence, has a disability or identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Read VCAT’s how to join a phone or videoconference for more information, including the process for using interpreters during remote hearings.
How do I help a client prepare for a VCAT hearing?
If you aren’t sure when the hearing is, call VCAT and ask for the hearing details (time, date and details to phone into the hearing). To do this, you will need to provide the name of your client and the address of the property. You will need consent from your client to do this.
We recommend clients get legal representation at VCAT where possible. Refer your client to one of the following services for free legal advice or representation:
- Justice Connect assists with VCAT hearings for eviction, compliance order applications and some compensation matters. You can refer through our online form.
- Victoria Legal Aid has a duty lawyer service that can help with urgent hearings.
- Tenants Victoria
- Local CLC
What if your client does not have legal assistance?
If you have not been able to secure legal assistance for your client, or they don’t want to speak with a lawyer, consider the guidance below.
- Contact Justice Connect Homeless Law for a secondary consultation to gain a better understanding about what to expect and available legal arguments so you can share this information with your client. Secondary consultations will be provided subject to capacity.
- Contact Tenants Victoria community worker line
- Contact the rental provider and attempt to resolve the dispute and have them withdraw the VCAT application. You should have your client’s consent to do this.
- Assist your client to gather any relevant evidence, such as photographs or intervention orders, that support their side of the story. Documents should be emailed to the rental provider and VCAT by 4.00pm the day before the hearing at the latest. See VCAT’s website for more information.
- Consider all tips below in ‘How to support your client’.
- If you need more time to try to find a lawyer, see If your client needs to move the hearing to another day.
What to expect at a VCAT hearing
At the start of the hearing, the Member will:
- confirm who is in attendance and what their role is in the dispute
- ask people who are not lawyers to take an oath or affirmation
Whoever made the initial application to VCAT will have an opportunity to present their side first. Since they made the application, it will be up to them to prove their case. After that, the person who is responding to the application will have an opportunity to present their side of the case, including any evidence they have.
VCAT needs to make sure both parties have a fair hearing. The Member will ask questions to guide the hearing and at times it may seem like a conversation. If you have any questions, you should ask the Member. It is important to be respectful during a hearing.
Occasionally witnesses may attend hearings to give evidence. As a case worker, where your client is represented by a lawyer, you generally won’t be required to speak at the hearing unless that has been arranged in advance.
The length of a VCAT hearing will depend on how complex the dispute is. It may run for 15 minutes or a whole day. You will generally know in advance if a hearing will run for more than an hour.
At the end of the hearing, the Member will explain their decision. VCAT will then send out a written order by email or by post which records their decision.
See VCAT’s On Hearing Day page for more information about what to expect.
How to support your client at a VCAT hearing
VCAT hearings can be stressful. You can support your client with a VCAT hearing by:
- bringing any relevant evidence, such as photos or intervention orders, to the hearing to support their side of the story
- helping your client create a timeline of events
- drafting a letter of support, see our template Support letter for VCAT
- being with them during the hearing
- providing a quiet, private space at your office for them to take part in the VCAT hearing
- providing evidence at the hearing if it’s appropriate.
Attending a hearing if your client is not there may impact your client's right to a rehearing
We advise against attending a hearing if your client is not there because it may impact their right to a rehearing. See below, If your client misses a VCAT hearing for more information.
If your client misses a hearing
Your client can apply for a review of VCATs decision if they missed the VCAT hearing, and no one attended on their behalf. This might lead to VCAT making a different decision about their matter.
The requirements to lodge a review application are:
1. A reasonable excuse for not attending
- For example, your client didn’t attend because they have an acquired brain injury which impacts their memory, and they forgot about the hearing.
- For example, your client didn’t receive the notice of hearing because they were not staying at the address due to family violence.
2. A reasonable case to argue
- We think about this as information that wasn’t available at the hearing and might lead VCAT to make a different decision. For example, if a possession order was made on the grounds of damage but your client has evidence to show someone else damaged the property.
3. The application is lodged within 14 days of becoming aware of the VCAT order.
- Note that you can ask VCAT to extend this timeframe.
VCAT is generous when considering the requirements above. We always encourage lodging a review application.
If VCAT accepts the application, they will provide a new hearing date. Eviction proceedings will be placed on hold until after the hearing.
If the police have told your client they will be coming to their home to execute a warrant of possession (this means change the locks), and your client didn’t attend the hearing, they can apply for a rehearing. Act quickly – once the locks are changed it is too late to apply.
Justice Connect Homeless Law can assist your client to apply for a rehearing, or where appropriate support workers to lodge this application. See Applying for a rehearing at VCAT.
If your client needs to move the hearing to another day
Moving a hearing to a later day is called an adjournment.
VCAT is not generous in granting adjournments unless there is a good reason.
Common reasons for requesting an adjournment include being too unwell to attend a hearing or needing additional time to get legal advice or representation.
VCAT is more likely to agree to an adjournment if the renter and rental provider agree before the hearing. You can ask for an adjournment verbally at the start of a hearing, or prior to the hearing in writing.
If you make an adjournment request in writing by 4.00pm two business days ahead of the hearing, VCAT will let you know if they agree to an adjournment before the hearing. For example: if the hearing is on Friday, an adjournment application should be lodged at VCAT before 4.00pm on Tuesday that week.
VCAT will consider your adjournment request at the hearing if it is not lodged within that timeframe.
If you are assisting a client to apply for an adjournment, we recommend you:
- Contact the rental provider and ask if they agree to adjourning the matter. Explain why you want an adjournment.
- Ask the rental provider to complete and sign the Request for consent to adjournment form. The rental provider should complete the relevant section in the form if they either agree to the adjournment or if they object to the adjournment.
- Fill out the Adjournment application and email it, and the above form, to VCAT (renting@vcat.vic.gov.au). Include the rental provider in your email.
- If there is urgency, call VCAT to ensure they have received the application and ask when you can expect a decision.
If a possession order is made at VCAT
At a hearing, VCAT might make a possession order if the rental provider wants to evict your client. Things can move quickly from here. Read After a possession order is made for more information.
The content on the Workers’ Resource Hub is legal information for general guidance and not legal advice. The content on this webpage was last updated in August 2023. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
