What do you want to do ?
Appeal a VCAT decision
You can only appeal a VCAT decision on a question of law – that is, only if you believe VCAT made a mistake in the way it applied the law.
To appeal, you need permission from the court that would hear the case. We call this seeking leave to appeal.
To seek leave to appeal, apply to the:
- Court of Appeal if the VCAT president or a vice president made the decision
- Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria if any other VCAT member made the decision.
Your VCAT order tells you who made the decision.
Time limit
You must start the appeal process within 28 days of the date of the VCAT order.
We can only extend this time limit with permission from the court. Asking the court to extend the time limit is called 'seeking leave to appeal out of time'.
If you want an extension of time, apply for it when you are seeking permission to appeal. The court usually decides these applications at the same time.
Fees for appeals
See the Supreme Court of Victoria website for fees to appeal a VCAT decision.
Legal advice
If you intend to appeal a decision, you need to act as soon as VCAT makes the decision. You may want to:
- get legal help – see the Supreme Court of Victoria's list of free or low-cost legal services
- get information about representing yourself at the Supreme Court
Related pages
Reviews and re-hearings
You can apply to have a case reopened. If we agree to your request, we review VCAT’s order at a rehearing.
Fix a mistake in a VCAT order
You can apply to have a case reopened. If we agree to your request, we review VCAT’s order at a rehearing.
What happens if I miss my hearing?
What happens if you miss the hearing depends on if you’re the applicant or the respondent.