Step by step guide- Presenting your case at the hearing

On the day of your hearing, try to arrive at least 15 minutes early. This gives you time to find the right room and get ready.

The date and time of your hearing will be on your Notice of Hearing. Bring this notice with you. If you can’t find the room, ask staff at the registry for help.

You do not have to wear formal clothes, but it is best to look neat and tidy. If you are going to be late, contact the tribunal as soon as you can. If you don’t tell them, the hearing might go ahead without you and orders might be made in your absence.

Tip: Make sure your mobile phone is off or on silent before you go into the hearing room. 

When you get to the hearing room, there may be tribunal staff and security there. Tell the staff that you have arrived.

Hearings are open to the public, so other people may be in the room, including family members, friends or people waiting for their own hearing.

The tribunal member sits at the front of the room. You and the respondent sit at tables facing them. What people say in the hearing is sound recorded so there is an accurate record.

If your case is the only one being heard at that time, you can sit at the table at the front. Put your papers in order so you can find them quickly during the hearing.

If you are facing the front, sit on the right-hand side of the table. Other cases are often listed for the same time, so wait at the back until your case is called.

You may hear a knock on the door and an NCAT officer will ask everyone to stand. People usually bow their heads slightly when the tribunal member comes in. When the officer says to sit down, the hearing will begin.

The tribunal member may ask you to take an oath or an affirmation before the hearing starts. This is a formal promise that you will tell the truth. 

Stand up when you are speaking to the tribunal member or the respondent.

You should always be polite to the tribunal member, other NCAT staff and the respondent. Refer to the tribunal member, the respondent or their lawyer as Mr/Ms and their surname. If the tribunal member is the president or a judge you must address them as 'Your Honour'. Don't interrupt when the tribunal member or the respondent is talking.

The first thing the tribunal member may do is ask you and the respondent if there is any chance of the case being settled. If both you and the respondent agree, the member will give you time to go outside the hearing room and discuss settling the case.

Many consumer claim cases settle in this way just before a hearing. If you come to an agreement there are two ways to end the case:

• Consent orders: You can ask the tribunal member to turn your agreement into official orders. Both sides must follow these orders.

• Terms of settlement: You can ask for the hearing to be delayed for a short time so both sides can write down and sign the agreement.

If you don't settle the case, the tribunal member will continue with the hearing. The tribunal member will go through the written evidence that has been filed with the tribunal and check that:

• you got all the documents from the respondent

• the respondent got all the documents from you

• the tribunal has the same documents as both sides. 

You will usually speak first because you started the case. When it is your turn, you should:

• give a short summary of what happened

• talk about your timeline and written evidence

• point out parts of the other side’s evidence that you think are wrong or do not match. 

It is a good idea to bring some notes, especially if you are nervous.

To make sure they understand, the tribunal member may ask you questions or ask you to explain something more clearly. They may also ask you to move on if you have said enough about one issue or if something is not relevant to the case.

If you want to talk about the law that applies to your case, do that after you have talked about your evidence.

Stay calm and polite. Do not be rude about the other side. Stick to the facts and the evidence. 

Witnesses

If you have an expert witness there in person, tell the tribunal member when you are ready for that witness to speak.

A tribunal officer will take the witness to the witness box and ask them to make an oath or affirmation. Both mean they are promising to tell the truth. An oath is religious; an affirmation is not.

Ask the witness to say their name, address and occupation. Then ask them to confirm that their witness statement is true and correct. You can also ask questions you prepared about their witness statement.

After you finish asking questions, the other side can ask the witness questions too. This is called cross-examination.

After the cross-examination, you will be asked if you want to ask the witness any further questions. This is called 're-examination' and is a chance for you to clarify anything that was raised with the witness in cross-examination.

Your witnesses will go first. The respondent will then be able to call their witnesses. You will have the chance to cross-examine the respondent's witnesses.

When you have finished speaking, the tribunal member will ask the respondent to speak. It’s important that you don't interrupt the respondent or their representative when it is their turn to speak. You could make some notes about anything you want to comment on or clarify. At the end of the hearing, you will be asked whether there is anything else you want to say.

After both sides have presented their evidence, you will usually each get one last chance to speak. This is called final submissions.

In your final submissions, you can talk about:

• a short summary of your evidence

• problems you see in the respondent’s evidence

• how you think the Australian Consumer Law applies to your case

• what orders you want the tribunal to make.

Usually each side pays their own costs at NCAT. In rare cases, NCAT may order one side to pay legal costs if a lawyer is involved.

Legal costs can include:

• lawyer’s fees

• case expenses, such as application fees, witness costs, and expert report costs.

You cannot claim your travel costs or the money you lost from taking time off work.

For more information, see Legal costs on the NCAT website. 

Consumer claim cases are decided on the balance of probabilities. This means the tribunal member decides what most likely happened based on the evidence from both sides.

The tribunal member will often give a decision at the hearing after both sides have finished. If the case is more complicated, the member may take more time before making orders. The word for this is that the member will ‘reserve’ their decision.

For more information, see After the hearing at NCAT.