About the Retail Tenancies List
Contact details
How do I bring a dispute to VCAT?
VCAT Application forms-General guidelines
VCAT Application fees.
How will disputes be dealt with?
What orders can VCAT make?
What procedure will the tribunal adopt?
Hearing venues
Can the parties have professional representation?
What assistance is available to unrepresented parties?
How can the tribunal's orders be enforced?
Costs
Mediation
Injunctions (interlocutory relief)
Your Privacy and VCAT
Are you a tenant in a Retail Tenancy lease?
If you are a tenant in a retail tenancy and are in dispute with your landlord, the Small Business Commissioner can seek to resolve the dispute before it develops into legal action. Unless you are applying for an urgent injunction, VCAT recommends that you first contact the
Office of the Small Business Commissioner on 13 22 15 about retail tenancy disputes.
About the Retail Tenancies List
The Retail Tenancies List provides for the resolution by VCAT of applications "by a landlord or tenant under a retail premises lease, or by a specialist retail valuer, seeking resolution of a retail tenancy dispute".
The tribunal gains its jurisdiction under the
Retail Leases Act 2003. The Retail Tenancies List also exercises a supplementary jurisdiction over disputes relative to rental premises under the
Fair Trading Act 1999.
Unless you are applying for an urgent injunction, VCAT recommends that you first contact the
Office of the Small Business Commissioner on 13 22 15 about retail tenancy disputes.
See the
Retail Tenancies Reform Act 1998 and Rules.
You can view a copy of these Acts on the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website at
http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au - click on "Victorian Law Today".
How do I bring a dispute to VCAT?
Unless you are applying for an urgent injunction, VCAT recommends that you first contact the
Office of the Small Business Commissioner on 13 22 15 about retail tenancy disputes.
How will disputes be dealt with?
Where the amount of a claim is $15,000 or less, a small claims procedure will be adopted. The dispute will be referred to a one and a half hour mediation which may be extended to two hours. If the dispute has not resolved in the course of the mediation, it will be referred to immediate hearing on the same day conducted by a tribunal member.
Claims for more than $100,000 will be the subject of a preliminary hearing where the filing of points of claim, statement of evidence, etc. will be considered and a hearing date will be fixed for the determination of the dispute. The Registrar may refer these larger matters to mediation at any stage either before or after the preliminary hearing.
Claims ranging from $15,000 to $100,000 are referred first to mediation. If they do not resolve, a preliminary hearing will be conducted to give directions for the final hearing.
Please find further information in the following document:
What orders can VCAT make?
The
Retail Leases Act 2003 empowers the tribunal to give a range of remedies including orders requiring parties to do or refrain from doing various things, to pay money, surrender possession of leased premises or to grant injunctions.
Similar powers are exercisable under the
Fair Trading Act 1999 including power to vary or rescind leases and other contracts.
What procedure will the tribunal adopt?
The tribunal will adopt as informal a procedure as possible consistent with ensuring that each party has a proper opportunity to be heard and to challenge any evidence brought against that party. Each party will be given the opportunity to call witnesses, cross examine the other party’s witnesses and make submissions.
Hearing venues
Most of the tribunal’s hearings will be conducted at 55 King Street, Melbourne. Where it is appropriate to do so however, the tribunal will sit in regional locations around the State.
Can the parties have professional representation?
In the Retail Tenancies List the tribunal will permit parties to be represented by lawyers and (subject to the leave of the tribunal) by other professionals.
What assistance is available to unrepresented parties?
It is the duty of the presiding member at any hearing to give whatever guidance is necessary to an unrepresented party, acquainting that party with any procedural rules which may be necessary. Nevertheless, since the tribunal member’s primary duty is to be an impartial adjudicator he or she cannot take on the role of arguing the case for an unrepresented party.
How can the tribunal's orders be enforced?
Provision is made in the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 for the tribunal’s orders to be registered in the Magistrates’ Court, the County court or the Supreme Court as may be appropriate and enforced as orders of those Courts.
Costs
Applications made to VCAT before 1 May 2003
The tribunal has a wide discretion in the award of costs. As a matter of policy it will seek to minimise the incidence of party-party costs. In general however, a party which is successful in a dispute in the tribunal which has proceeded to a full scale defended hearing could expect to have a costs order made in that party’s favour against the losing party.
Applications made to VCAT on or after 1 May 2003
Section 92 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 says:
92. Each party bears its own costs
(1) Despite anything to the contrary in Division 8 of Part 4 of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998, each party to a proceeding before the tribunal under this part is to bear its own costs in the proceeding.
(2) However, at any time the tribunal may make an order that a party pay all or a specified part of the costs of another party in the proceeding but only if the tribunal is satisfied that it is fair to do so because -
(a) the party conducted the proceeding in a vexatious way that unnecessarily disadvantaged the other party to the proceeding; or
(b) the party refused to take part in or withdrew from mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution under this Part.
(3) In this section, "costs" includes fees, charges and disbursements.
Mediation
VCAT would encourage any landlord and tenant in dispute to explore all possibilities of mediation or conciliation before approaching the tribunal. Once an application is filed with VCAT, the Registrar has the power and is likely to refer the matter to mediation at some point prior to a full scale hearing.
Contact details
Unless you are applying for an urgent injunction, VCAT recommends that you first contact the
Office of the Small Business Commissioner on 13 22 15 about retail tenancy disputes.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Retail Tenancies List
55 King Street
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
(Inquiries at Ground floor)
Telephone: 9628 9960
Facsimile: 9628 9988
(Office Hours: 9.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.)