The tribunal member at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) will make a final decision at the hearing. Depending on what happens at the hearing, the tribunal member may dismiss the application, make a work order or make a money order.

When will a decision be made?

The tribunal member can make a decision straight after the hearing if:

  • the respondent does not follow the tribunal’s direction about appearing at the hearing and you prove your case

  • your matter is simple and you and the respondent both present your case. 

If your matter is more complicated, the tribunal member may take time to consider the evidence and the law. This is called a ‘reserved decision’. The tribunal member will usually tell you their decision within six weeks.

For more information, see Decision timeframes on the NCAT website. 

Enforcing a work order or money order

The tribunal member may make a work order, a money order or a combination of both. 

A work order is an order that directs the respondent to carry out a specific service, for example, to repair the goods.

A money order is an order for the respondent to pay you money, for example, a full refund of the goods or service. 

If the respondent doesn’t carry out the work order, you can apply for a Renewal of proceedings within the time stated in the NCAT order or within 12 months if a date was not specified. 

If the respondent does not pay you the money order, you can enforce the NCAT order through the local court. You will have to register the order and use the enforcement options available at court. For more information, see Enforcing NCAT orders.

Apply to reinstate proceedings

If your case was dismissed by the tribunal member because you missed the hearing, you can apply to reinstate proceedings. 

For more information, see Reinstatements on NCAT’s website. 

ALERT: The application to reinstate proceedings must be filed within 7 days of your case being dismissed. If you are out of time or are unsure as to whether you should make this application, you should get legal advice. 

Apply to set aside or vary the decision

You can apply to set aside or vary the decision if:

  • you and the respondent agree that the NCAT order should be set aside or varied, or

  • you were unable to attend the hearing and couldn’t put your case forward to the tribunal.  

For more information, see Set aside or vary decision on NCAT’s website. 

ALERT: If you want to apply to set aside or vary the decision, you must file within 7 days of the NCAT decision.  If you are out of time or unsure about whether you should make this application, you should get legal advice.

Appealing the decision

If you don’t agree with the decision made by the tribunal member, you have 28 days from the date of the decision, or from when reasons are given (either written or orally), whichever comes later, to make an internal appeal at NCAT. 

There are limited grounds to make an internal appeal. You should carefully consider the reasons for the decision and decide if you want to appeal it. If you want to appeal you should:

  • get legal advice as soon as possible 

  • file an application for an internal appeal within 28 days of the decision, or from when reasons were given (either written or orally), whichever comes later. 

For more information, see Appeal an NCAT decision on the NCAT website.

ALERT: Before you decide to appeal the decision, get legal advice.

Last updated: June 2026

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