NCAT conciliation: how to prepare and record an agreement

What you need to know

These deadlines are strict. The Tribunal can extend in some cases, but extensions are not automatic — they're weighed on length, reason, prospects and prejudice.

• On the dayConciliation is frequently scheduled immediately before the hearing — come ready to both settle and run the case
  NCAT listing practice
• Before you signRead the proposed terms and tell the Member if you do not understand or agree before an order is made; ask for time if needed
  NCAT conciliation FAQs
• Spelled-out datesBuild clear deadlines into the orders (e.g. 'pay by [date]') — vague timing is the most common cause of later disputes
  Drafting practice
• Usually 14 or 28 daysInternal appeal time depends on the division and decision; residential proceedings are generally 14 days and many other matters 28 days
  NCAT appeal guidance and Procedural Rule 25

1. 1

   Before the day: know your bottom line and your evidence

   Decide, in advance and in writing for yourself, three numbers or outcomes: the best realistic result, the result you'd accept, and the point below which you'd rather run the hearing. Knowing your walk-away line stops you being talked into a number on the spot.

   Prepare as if there will be a hearing anyway. Bring your full evidence bundle. A party who is visibly ready to run the case negotiates from strength; a party with no documents has little bargaining power in conciliation.

2. 2

   Understand 'without prejudice' and confidentiality

   Conciliation is generally conducted on a without prejudice and confidential basis. That means an offer or admission you make to try to settle usually can't be used against you at the hearing if no deal is reached, and the Member who hears the case is normally not told what was offered. This is what lets both sides explore compromise freely.

   Use it: you can float a figure to test the other side without committing to it as your case. But don't treat it as a licence to be loose with facts — and remember the protection is about settlement discussions, not a shield for threats or admissions of unrelated wrongdoing.

3. 3

   Negotiate around the order you actually want

   Frame everything in terms of the order you'd ask the Member to make: a sum of money by a date, repairs done by a deadline, a bond split, an agreement to end the tenancy on terms. Money is easy to enforce; promises to "behave better" or "communicate" are not. Prefer concrete, datable, measurable terms.

   If a payment is to be made over time, ask for a default clause — for example, that the whole balance becomes payable immediately if an instalment is missed. That turns a soft promise into something you can enforce without coming back to argue the point.

4. 4

   Get the agreement made into sealed consent orders

   Ask the Member whether the agreed terms can be made into consent orders. A conciliator may help write the agreement, but the Member makes the order. Check what each party must do and when, and raise any uncertainty before confirming your agreement. Not every proposed term is within the Tribunal's power.

   Keep a copy of the orders actually made. If they are not followed, the next step depends on the order: money orders and work orders have different procedures. Use NCAT's enforcement guidance and seek advice if you are unsure which process applies.

5. 5

   If you don't settle, follow the listing process

   You do not have to accept a proposal. Your Notice of Listing and the directions on the day determine whether a hearing follows immediately or is listed later. Tell the conciliator plainly if there is no agreement and ask what happens next.

   Ask the conciliator to explain confidentiality and who will hear the matter before discussions begin. If a formal offer could affect costs in your type or value of claim, get advice before assuming it has no consequence.

Use the checklist below to organise relevant documents. Follow your Notice of Listing and any directions about what to file, serve and bring.

• Your full evidence bundle

  Bring everything you'd rely on at hearing. Being demonstrably ready to run the case is your strongest bargaining chip in conciliation.

• A one-page 'numbers' sheet for yourself

  Your best outcome, your acceptable outcome, and your walk-away line. Keep it in front of you so you don't get talked past it.

• A draft of the orders you want

  Write out, in plain words, the order you'd ask the Member for: amount, action, and deadline. It becomes the skeleton of any consent orders.

• A running schedule of amounts claimed

  A clear breakdown (what, when, how much, with receipts) lets you justify your figure and resist a lowball offer.

• Any prior offers or correspondence

  Earlier settlement attempts and the other side's previous positions help you judge whether today's offer is genuinely better.

• Pen and paper to note the agreed terms

  Write down each term as it's agreed so the consent orders match what you actually settled on, not a vaguer version.

• Settling on a promise instead of an order

  Check whether each term is made into an order or only noted as an agreement. Keep the written outcome and ask about the relevant enforcement process.

• Vague terms

  'The landlord will fix the leak' with no date or definition of 'fixed' invites a second dispute. Pin down what, by when, and to what standard.

• No default clause on instalment deals

  Agreeing to be paid over months without a clause that accelerates the balance on a missed payment can leave you chasing each instalment separately.

• Negotiating without a walk-away figure

  If you haven't decided your bottom line before the day, the pressure of the room makes it easy to accept far less than your case is worth.

• Treating confidentiality as a trap

  Some self-reps clam up, fearing everything will be used against them. The without-prejudice rule exists precisely so you can explore offers safely — use it.

• Forgetting you can still have the hearing

  A failed conciliation does not decide the case. Check whether your Notice lists a hearing that day and ask what the next procedural step will be.

This is the kind of order you can ask for — not a guarantee you'll get it. Frame your application around the order you actually want.

• Consent orders for payment

  A Tribunal order, made by consent, that one party pay a fixed sum by a stated date — enforceable as an order, not a mere promise.

• Consent orders for work or action

  An order that a party carry out specified repairs or actions by a deadline, ideally with a defined standard of completion.

• Instalment order with a default (acceleration) clause

  Payment by instalments where the whole outstanding balance falls due immediately if a payment is missed — far easier to enforce.

• Order recording a bond split or release

  Where the dispute is over a rental bond, consent orders can record exactly how the bond is to be divided and released.

• Order dismissing or withdrawing the application on terms

  Sometimes the deal is that the application is withdrawn once agreed steps are done — make sure the agreed steps are themselves captured in enforceable terms first.

• NCAT — resolving your case / conciliation

  How NCAT uses conciliation and other resolution processes.

• NSW Fair Trading — complaints and mediation

  The pre-NCAT mediation step for many consumer, tenancy and building disputes.

• LawAccess NSW — 1300 888 529

  Free legal information line, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.

• Tenants' Advice & Advocacy Services (TAAS)

  Free advice and support for tenants going to NCAT.

• Community Legal Centres NSW

  Find a local CLC for free advice on your dispute.

• Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW)

  The Act governing NCAT's resolution processes and the power to give effect to settlements.

Questions self-reps ask

• What to expect at an NCAT hearingIf conciliation doesn't settle it, prepare for the hearing process described in your Notice and directions.
• How to enforce NCAT orders in NSWWhy a consent order beats a handshake — and what to do if the other side doesn't comply.
• What to say to an NCAT memberFraming your position clearly, whether settling or running it.
• Building your NCAT evidence bundleThe bundle that makes you ready to run — and gives you the upper hand to settle.