ACAT Civil Dispute Time Limits: Limitation Periods and the 6-Month Lapsing Rule

Two separate time limits govern ACAT civil disputes, and confusing them is a mistake that can kill your claim. One determines how long you have to file. The other determines how long your filed case survives if nothing happens.

The 6-Year Limitation Period

Under the Limitation Act 1985 (ACT), most civil claims must be filed within 6 years of the triggering event:

• Breach of contract: 6 years from the date the contract was breached
• Debt recovery: 6 years from the date the debt became due and payable
• Property damage, negligence, nuisance, trespass: 6 years from the date the damage or loss occurred

Miss the 6-year window, and the respondent has a complete statutory defence. They don't even need to prove the debt doesn't exist — just that you filed too late.

What Doesn't Stop the Clock

Sending a letter of demand does not pause the limitation period. Making phone calls, sending emails, or negotiating informally has no effect on the deadline. The limitation clock only stops when ACAT formally accepts your application — not when you submit it, but when the registry completes its review and issues acceptance.

Given that registry processing takes 3–10 business days, file well before the 6-year mark. Filing on the last possible day and having the application bounced for a missing attachment means you've lost your right to claim.

What Does Reset the Clock

Under section 32 of the Limitation Act 1985, if the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing or makes a partial payment, the 6-year limitation period resets from the date of that acknowledgment or payment.

This means a text message saying "I know I owe you the money, I'll pay next month" — if it's in writing — restarts the clock. So does a $50 partial payment on a $5,000 debt. But verbal promises with no written record don't count.

The 6-Month Lapsing Rule

This is the one that catches people after they've filed. Under updated ACAT procedural rules, if a civil proceeding sits inactive for 6 months — no documents filed, no directions complied with, no steps taken by either side — the case automatically lapses and is struck out.

This is a reduction from the previous 12-month rule, so older guidance about a one-year window is out of date.

The lapsing rule protects against abandoned cases clogging the tribunal's list. But it also catches applicants who file their claim, get a directions hearing date, and then let things drift because life gets busy. If the member directs you to file your evidence bundle by a certain date and you don't do it, the 6-month clock starts ticking toward automatic dismissal.

How to Avoid Lapsing

File documents on time. Attend every hearing and conference. If you need more time, apply for an adjournment before the deadline, not after. Keep a calendar of every procedural date and set reminders ahead of each one.

If your case lapses, contact ACAT promptly to ask what procedural options remain, especially if the 6-year limitation period may also have expired.

The 28-Day Appeal Deadline

One more time limit: if you want to appeal an ACAT decision, you have 28 calendar days from the date of the decision to file with the ACAT Appeal Tribunal. This deadline is strict.

The ACAT civil dispute guide includes a deadline calendar tracking every critical date from filing through to enforcement, including the lapsing rule milestones.

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