A Brief Note On The Victorian Civil And Administrative Tribunal

The hearing was commenced on Tuesday, 7 October 2014 at the Land and Environment Court 3A, Windeyer Chambers 225 Macquarie Street, Sydney. It was led by Commissioner Dixon.

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is a state tribunal for the Victorians that help and guide to resolve disputes on different aspects including Building and Property, Civil Disputes, Equal Opportunity, Guardians-Administrators, Joint Property and Water, Legal Practice, Owners Corporations, Retail Tenancies, State Taxation, Business Regulation, Domestic Building, FOI-TAC and other Claims, Health- Privacy / Disability Act, Land Valuation, Mental Health, Planning and Environment and Residential Tenancies.

According to Valentino-Devries (2011), courts are discussing serveral issues that have come up such as activity

Within twenty (20) days of the close of the hearing, the arbitrator shall issue a written decision and award (if any) stating the reasons for the decision and award. The decision shall be final and binding on both parties, their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. Proceedings to enforce, confirm, modify or vacate the decision will be controlled by and conducted in conformity with the Federal Arbitration Act 9 U.S.C. Sec. 1 et seq. or applicable state

The success of conciliation at NCAT appears to be heavily related to the fact that once people attend the tribunal, the realness of the situation finally sinks in. Many parties have to take time off work to attend the hearing and they realise that

Tribunals are composed of a legally trained chairperson along with two law experts who specialize in this field. They are often distinguished from courts due to their less formal procedures and by the fact that they operated in specialized areas; also the decisions of tribunals are mainly concerned with the laws of a particular organisation attempting to deliver administrative justice where the court can dispense justice through an independent judiciary. Tribunals are a key division of the courts in dispensing justice as an alternate way. There are over seventy tribunals today that often deal with over a million cases in the space of a year, all with the same view of making justice accessible to

The parties involved are required to attend a pre trial hearing in which they are able to speak directly to the

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) operates with flexibility and informality in providing a low-cost and effective avenue for dispute resolution outside the courts. VCAT integrates all tribunals within Victoria under one umbrella and divides them into three categories. The Civil Division, The Administrative Division and the Human Rights Division. Various VCAT list are either free or cost a nominal fee of $59 as of July 1st 2015. The matter is not disclosed to public. This reduces the chances of deformation and ensures that the parties’ reputation is sealed as their matter is not opened to the public and does not put their carer in risk in the future. Legal representation is restricted and discouraged in Alternative Dispute

After submission of written arguments and a review of the record (the board members would have to to review the transcript and exhibits from the two-day hearing),

cases often take a long time to be heard, even years, and some cases and can be resolved without

The court’s power to require the attendance of witnesses can often be very important to the proper resolution of a dispute. The right to a jury also may be very valuable to one or more litigants. Finally, the existence of an appeals process can be critical. There is not much a party can do about an arbitration award that is unfavorable. But if a judge makes a mistake the decision can be appealed to a higher court.

Another issue is obtainable when the parties have not decided to institutional rules providing for a truncated tribunal. In this case, the appointing authority and/or tribunal must choose, without specific approval, how to deal with an obstructive arbitrator. The major response has been to permit truncated tribunals, in which two arbitrators proceed with their regulation, without the participation of the obstructive arbitrator.64 Other tribunals have taken also same approaches, concluding that non-obstructive members of a tribunal have an responsibility to continue with the arbitral proceedings notwithstanding the absence of an obstructive

With Article 6, a person is guaranteed to the right to a fair and public hearing in the determination of an individual’s civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him. The ECtHR in case laws has broadly

“Following the Woolf Reforms the courts encourage the use of alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) both in pre-action protocols as well as after commencement of civil proceedings.”

Delays in litigation because of a shortage of courts and the abuse of pre-trial procedures are notorious. Arbitration may enable the dispute to be resolved much more quickly, provided that the arbitrator is given the procedural powers to follow an expedited procedure and to limit tactical delays by the parties