Crucially needed government funding allowed QCAT to make a difference in its demanding workload and clearance rate, the Honourable Justice Kerri Mellifont said in tribunal’s 2024-25 annual report.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s annual report was tabled in Parliament this month.
The QCAT President started her message with the heading “What a difference a budget injection can make”.
“The June 2024 budget announcement by government, which saw QCAT being allocated some crucially needed funds to assist QCAT to get through some of its incredible workload, has started to produce noticeable benefits,” Her Honour said.
“In the 2024-25 reporting year, through the incredible hard work and dedication of its members, adjudicators, and staff, QCAT scheduled 31,431 proceedings (an increase from 24,978 in the previous year) and heard and determined 28,060 cases (an increase from 26,934 in the previous year).
“Its overall clearance rate has increased by six per cent, thus achieving a clearance rate of 98 per cent. Wait times in some lists have also started to decrease.
“Of particular note, the skill, knowledge and specialised expertise of the members in the child protection space has been utilised very effectively in compulsory conferences, with the consequence that only 11 matters out of 217 applications needed to go to hearing.”
The Queensland Law Society has long advocated for QCAT support in its Call to Parties Statement.
Justice Mellifont said QCAT was seeing a trend in increasing lodgements in some areas including other civil disputes (26 per cent), neighbourhood disputes (17 per cent), motor vehicle disputes (15 per cent), retail shop lease disputes (nine per cent), appeals (two per cent) and guardianship (four per cent across new applications, reviews of appointments and administrator compliance matters).
“As to guardianship, the eight per cent increase in new applications equates to a very substantial sizeable increase in workload, not only in respect of hearing and determining the new applications, but also in respect of future reviews of appointments made and in respect of administrator compliance,” Justice Mellifont said.
“It is clear that the workload in the guardianship jurisdiction will continue to increase due to both the number of matters and the rising percentage of those matters which are complex”
QLS has called for a commitment to provide target funding to support the guardianship jurisdiction, including specific funding for comprehensive capacity reports and independent legal representation to support the QCAT hospital hearing program, particularly for complex matters.
The annual report was being finalised as the ministerial review of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (QCAT Act) was under way. The Act must be reviewed every five years.
On 23 May 2025, the Queensland Government asked the Honourable David Thomas to review the Act. The final report is due to the Attorney-General by 30 April 2026.
Justice Mellifont said QCAT had delivered on almost all of its statutory objectives despite being chronically underfunded throughout its history.
“The one object which has proved beyond reach in some matters is to be ‘quick’. One cannot help but think that the objective of quick justice could also have been, and could be in the future, delivered by a Tribunal properly resourced to undertake the enormous breadth and quantum of work it does,” Justice Mellifont said.
“QCAT has decision-makers of exceptional skill and knowledge, with expertise in subject matters developed over years of specialist work.
“With the 2024 budget injection into QCAT and the expertise of QCAT decision-makers and registry staff, the ability of QCAT to deliver on all of the statutory objects has been increased, with the real benefits of that funding to crystallize over the next 12 to 18 months.
“I look forward to doing the best I can to assist QCAT in achieving its mission in my remaining months as President.”
Justice Mellifont’s original three-year appointment was extended until 31 July 2026.
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