​Appeals and reviews

If you are unhappy with a decision made in your case, you may have some options. ​​

Appeals 

Appeals from the Small Claims Division of the Local Court are made to the District Court. 

It is very difficult to appeal a Local Court – Small Claims decision. You cannot appeal just because you do not like the decision. You can only appeal if:

• ​You have been denied procedural fairness. For example, you were not given a fair chance to present your case.
  

• The magistrate or assessor acted outside their powers. This means they made a decision or order that they did not have the power to do.
  

An appeal against the decision of a magistrate or assessor must be made to the District Court within 28 days of the decision.

If you appeal a decision and you lose, it is very likely that you will have to pay legal costs. 

Before filing an appeal, you should get legal advice​. 

Reviews 

In the Small Claims Division of the Local Court, registrars often make decisions regarding applications to the court and at the pre-trial review. 

If a registrar makes a decision and you are unhappy with it, you can apply to have the decision reviewed by a magistrate of the Local Court. For example, you may want a magistrate to review a decision made by a registrar to set aside a default judgment.

If you apply to review the decision of the registrar, and the decision is not changed, you may be ordered to pay some of the defendant's legal costs. 

An application to review a registrar's decision must be made within 28 days of the date of the decision. 

If you want to review the decision of a registrar, you should get legal advice.