Not all QCAT decisions can be appealed. Whether or not a decision can be appealed, where it can be appealed to, and the process of the appeal, differs depending on the type of decision made and the circumstances supporting the reasoning (grounds) for the appeal.
Whether or not a decision can be appealed is a matter which is regulated by both the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld) (“QCAT Act”) and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2009 (Qld) (“QCAT Rules”).
Minor civil disputes can be appealed in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Appeal Tribunal (QCAT Appeal Tribunal). However, only decisions made by ‘non-judicial’ members of QCAT can be appealed to the QCAT Appeal Tribunal. Decisions on costs, or decisions made by judicial members of QCAT must be appealed to the Queensland Court of Appeal. Additionally, if an application for leave to appeal to the QCAT Appeal Tribunal is refused, that decision can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.
An application for appeal, whether to the QCAT Appeals Tribunal or the Queensland Court of Appeal, can be submitted on the basis of:
A question of fact means that you believe that the decision made was wrong in relation to the facts or evidence of the case (e.g. the decision-maker misread or misinterpreted the evidence).
A question of law means that you believe that the decision made was wrong in relation to a legal aspect of the matter (i.e. the decision-maker misinterpreted the meaning of relevant legislation applied, or the decision-maker applied the wrong law to the facts of the case).
A question of fact and law means that you believe that the decision-maker was wrong both in relation to the facts of the case and in relation to how the law was applied to the case (e.g. they misread the evidence and applied the wrong law to the facts of the case).
Leave to appeal will need to be sought where the decision being appealed is a decision in a proceeding for a minor civil dispute, a decision which is not the tribunal’s final decision in a proceeding, or a costs order.
Regardless of the basis for making the application, you must provide the reasons (grounds) for appealing the original decision and the evidence supporting your reasoning(s) for why there has been an error or injustice made.
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