In minor civil dispute proceedings including tenancy, minor debt, consumer/trader and dividing fence disputes, QCAT generally organises a final hearing to decide the case.
QCAT may organise various proceedings before the final hearing to assist parties to resolve a dispute. If your matter cannot be resolved or settled, QCAT will then organise a final hearing where a decision will be made.
This page contains general information to help you understand different proceedings, you may be required to attend compulsory conference:
Compulsory Conference
Compulsory conference is a dispute resolution proceeding used across a range of civil matters at QCAT prior to a hearing. Minor civil disputes are only scheduled for a compulsory conference in exceptional circumstances. This means generally, you will not be asked to attend this type of proceeding in a minor civil dispute.
Compulsory conferences can take between 60 and 180 minutes depending on your case type and are held in private. What is said or written at a conference cannot be used in later proceedings if the dispute does not settle unless the parties otherwise agree.
The aims of the compulsory conference are to:
- identify and clarify the issues you and the other party don’t agree on
- find a solution to the dispute without proceeding to a hearing
- identify the questions to be decided by QCAT at the hearing
- make orders and give directions to resolve the dispute; and
- if the proceeding is not settled, make orders and give directions about how the case will proceed so it can be resolved
If the parties reach agreement at the compulsory conference, QCAT will record the terms of the agreement in writing and make the orders necessary to give effect to the agreement. Each party will then sign the agreement and receive a copy. The QCAT process usually ends at this point if an agreement has been reached.
If the parties do not reach agreement, QCAT will usually make further directions to progress the dispute to hearing.
*Disclaimer – The above information was taken from the Queensland Civil & Administrative website as accurate in January 2023. If any changes are made by the court from that date they may not be reflected in this post