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New Tribunal opens in Victoria to clear COVID backlogs
Victoria has opened a new Civil and Administrative Tribunal facility in a Melbourne shopping and business district to resolve more cases and clear backlogs faster.
Naomi Neilson
Frankston’s new Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) will be mainly used to hear renting, consumer and guardianship matters and will include remote witness facilities to better support people affected by family violence. It will also offer alternative dispute resolution under a partnership with Dispute Settlement Centre.
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Opening the new facility in Melbourne’s south-east, Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said it would allow those who use the court services to move on with their lives and with their businesses faster following COVID-19.
“We know that the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on our courts system – that’s why we’re investing $25 million to boost VCAT’s capacity and upgrade digital systems so more matters can be heard faster,” Ms Symes said.
The facility becomes the second VCAT site to have a Koori hearing room that will provide accessible and culturally appropriate dispute resolution services. Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke said it will give locals “easy access” to services they need.
Frankston is one of three new state-of-the-art VCAT venues funded as part of the Labor government’s $11.5 million family violence reform package. The first site in Oakleigh was opened in February 2020 and a development in Bundoora is on track.
It is in addition to the $26.95 million the Labor government recently allocated to VCAT to manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and help clear backlogs.
VCAT president Justice Michelle Quigley commented: “VCAT’s new Frankston venue is an important part of VCAT’s vision to increase access to justice for local communities outside Melbourne’s CBD – providing greater capacity for dispute resolution across the South-East.”
