Appeals (VCAT & AUSTLII)

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The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is an independent tribunal that hears and decides applications by permit applicants, objectors and others about planning permit applications and other planning matters. It reviews a wide range of administrative decisions made by Council upon their merits, in an informal and expeditious manner.

An appeal to VCAT is called an application for review. The party making the application for review is called the applicant for review. Courteous behaviour is required and people are not allowed to interrupt or ask questions during anothers presentation. Although parties may be represented by a lawyer or planner, this is not essential, and many permit applicants and objectors present their own submissions.

An application for review involves all parties to undertake a considerable amount of time, effort and expense, and should therefore be considered carefully. A proceeding can only be stopped if VCAT agrees to it. Further information about VCAT, its procedures, guidelines and forms can be found at the VCAT - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Website.

Previous decisions made by VCAT can be found at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Decisions (website).