No costs incurred for moving courts
If a Tribunal member feels an NCAT case is not covered by the jurisdiction and it should go to another court, there is an agreement that the parties won’t incur increased fees to go to a new court.
When did this issue start?
The saga originally began in February 2017 when the Court of Appeal declared NCAT, which handles disputes between tenants and landlords, had no jurisdiction if one or more of the parties lives in another state.
As a result, interstate parties had to commence proceedings in the Local or District Court after NCAT declined to hear the matter due to ‘federal diversity jurisdiction’.
REINSW strongly lobbied the government to find a resolution and suggested replicating legislation in other states where the problems created by the NSW legislation does not exist.