Appeal a VCAT decision

You can only appeal a VCAT decision on a question of law – that is, only if you believe VCAT made a mistake in the way it applied the law.

To appeal, you need permission from the court that would hear the case. We call this seeking leave to appeal.

To seek leave to appeal, apply to the:

Your VCAT order tells you who made the decision.


Time limit

You must start the appeal process within 28 days of the date of the VCAT order.

We can only extend this time limit with permission from the court. Asking the court to extend the time limit is called 'seeking leave to appeal out of time'.

If you want an extension of time, apply for it when you are seeking permission to appeal. The court usually decides these applications at the same time.

Fees for appeals

See the Supreme Court of Victoria website for fees to appeal a VCAT decision.

Legal advice

If you intend to appeal a decision, you need to act as soon as VCAT makes the decision. You may want to:


Related pages

Reviews and re-hearings

You can apply to have a case reopened. If we agree to your request, we review VCAT’s order at a rehearing.

Fix a mistake in a VCAT order

You can apply to have a case reopened. If we agree to your request, we review VCAT’s order at a rehearing.

What happens if I miss my hearing?

What happens if you miss the hearing depends on if you’re the applicant or the respondent.