What do you want to do ?
Emergency assistance
Urgent applications, injunctions, what to do if you’re facing family violence or eviction.
What can I do if I’m facing eviction?
If you’ve been sent a copy of a notice to vacate or a copy of an application for possession by your rental provider (landlord), and you’re worried about eviction, the first thing to do is to speak to them.
You may be able to come to an agreement without coming to VCAT. For example, work out a payment plan if you’re behind on rent.
If you get a notice or message from us telling you to come to VCAT, this means the rental provider is asking us to make a decision about the situation. Don’t ignore this notice – it’s important you come to VCAT to have your say. You may even be able to reach an agreement on the day.
If you are a renter (tenant) who is being taken to VCAT due to unpaid rent and you want a payment plan, use the financial circumstances statement to give us details about your financial situation.
What can I do if I have an urgent guardianship issue?
Call the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) on 1300 309 337 any time, including after hours, about getting an urgent temporary order.
If you decide based on the OPA's information you need an urgent order, you must apply to VCAT. If we make an order without a hearing we’ll review it at a hearing within 6 weeks.
You can call us on 1300 01 8228 during office hours about an upcoming hearing or if there’s an issue with someone who already has an administrator, guardian or power of attorney.
Find out how to apply for guardianship and administration orders
What can I do if I’m affected by family violence?
If you’re affected by family or personal violence and the situation is urgent, call triple zero (000).
VCAT has a family violence support worker to help you at VCAT. Our support worker can:
- help you understand the VCAT process
- help you fill out the application
- connect you to other services for ongoing support
- support you during the VCAT hearing and help you attend the hearing remotely so you can avoid contact with the other person.
Contact our family violence support worker during business hours on 03 9628 9856.
How can I stop something or get someone to do something urgently?
Sometimes we order someone to do or stop doing something temporarily.
This is called an interim injunction. Applying for an interim injunction is serious. You must explain to us why the situation is urgent, for example it will cause major damage.
If you think you need an interim injunction, make sure you’re able to show some important reasons for your application. Include these reasons when you apply, or be ready to explain them at the urgent hearing.
Can I make an urgent application?
You can ask for an urgent hearing at any time. An urgent hearing means you’ll get a decision sooner if we agree.
For example:
- you may want a decision about a refund on a car you bought because you don’t have transport and the warranty period is going to expire soon
- you may want to stop the rental provider (landlord) from doing something they aren’t entitled to do under residential tenancies laws like trying to evict you without first applying for a termination order.
But if you want someone to do or stop doing something until your case has finished, you should apply for an injunction.
If you live in a rental property, some types of applications are considered urgent under the law. This means you don't have to apply for an urgent hearing. For example, urgent repairs are specific types of repairs that are needed for safety reasons, or are essential services such as water, gas or electricity.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has a list of urgent repairs. All other repairs are considered non-urgent.