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NTCAT can only hear a case when an Act of Parliament gives it authority.

Before commencing a proceeding, you must determine whether NTCAT has jurisdiction to deal with your matter.

A summary of the legislation that confers jurisdiction on NTCAT can be downloaded here

It is recommended that you check the relevant legislation and consider obtaining legal advice if you are unsure whether NTCAT can deal with your matter.

Generally speaking, NTCAT has two types of jurisdiction:

In its original jurisdiction NTCAT will consider and determines disputes and issues that have not been the subject of an earlier adjudication. A wide range of matters may be dealt with in NTCAT’s original jurisdiction, including: disputes between landlords and tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act; civil claims for sums up to $25,000; matters where misconduct is alleged against professionals; applications for guardianship orders for people with intellectual disabilities; disputes involving complaints of discrimination; and applications to enable the sale or redevelopment of unit complexes where not all unit title holders agree to that course.

In its review jurisdiction NTCAT will consider and determine applications for review of the merits of decisions made by government officers. It will reach a view as to what is the correct or preferable decision by undertaking a thorough reconsideration of the matter (which may involve consideration of facts and materials that were not considered by the original decision maker). 

The sorts of government decisions that may be reviewed by NTCAT include: licensing decisions, planning decisions, decisions about access to government information, and decisions about the payment of compensation to victims of crime.

NTCAT’s review jurisdiction also extends to the review of decisions made by NTCAT in its original jurisdiction.