Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales

The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales is a tribunal that specialises in resolving consumer disputes in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction in respect of certain consumer claims with the normal civil courts of New South Wales. In other areas of consumer law, it has exclusive jurisdiction. It was created on 25 February 2002 and ceased to function on 31 December 2013, its function assumed by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NACT).

The tribunal was created by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001 (NSW). It replaced the former Fair Trading Tribunal of New South Wales and the Residential Tribunal of New South Wales. The former tribunals had been criticised in the New South Wales Parliament for being unresponsive and slow. The current tribunal is the latest attempt to improve consumer dispute resolution in New South Wales.

The tribunal consists of a Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons. Senior Members and Members are also appointed to the tribunal. Senior members hear more complex cases. The tribunal may also use assessors to determine particular issues. Assessors are generally experts in the field that there is a dispute in.

The Tribunal has eight Divisions, i.e. General, Motor Vehicles, Tenancy, Home Building, Commercial, Strata and Community Schemes, Residential Parks, and Retirement Villages. Some of the Divisions limit the amount of money that may be claimed (e.g. $25,000 in the General Division and $500,000 in the Home Building Division), but others have no upper limit.

Registries of the tribunal are located in Sydney, Parramatta, Hurstville, Penrith, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wollongong and Tamworth. Applications may lodged at those registries.

The tribunal also sits at other country venues depending on the amount of work in those areas.

The General Division deals with consumer claims in relation to goods and services, which may include faulty goods and work by traders not performed properly. The tribunal can award a maximum of $25,000.

The Motor Vehicles Division handles disputes about new and used motor vehicles (including motor boats) and repairs. There is no maximum claim in the vehicle is new and used for private use.

The Tenancy Division deals with breaches of leases, excessive rent increases, termination of the rental agreement, and the return of rental bonds. An order can be made up to $20,000 with respect to a rental bond or $10,000 for other matters.

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