ACAT Response Checklist — Everything to File Before the 21-Day Deadline

The usual 21-day response period sounds like enough time until you start looking at what actually needs to happen. Between verifying the papers, understanding the claim, deciding your response strategy, filling in the form, gathering supporting documents, and lodging everything with the registry, the deadline arrives faster than anyone expects. A checklist keeps the process visible and prevents the kind of last-minute scramble that leads to incomplete filings or missed deadlines.

Week 1: Verify and Understand

• Confirm the papers are genuine. Call the ACAT Registry at (02) 6207 1740 or email [email protected] to verify the XD reference number and party names. Official ACAT correspondence never asks you to pay money into a personal account.
• Note the date you received the application and the due date in ACAT's correspondence. The response is usually due within 21 days. If calculating the period, Day 1 is the day after receipt. If day 21 falls on a weekend or ACT public holiday, the deadline moves to 4:30 PM on the next business day.
• Read the Civil Dispute Application thoroughly. Identify exactly what the applicant is claiming, the dollar amount, and what orders they want.
• Check the claim amount against ACAT's $25,000 limit. If it exceeds $25,000 and no abandonment or consent clause is mentioned, flag the jurisdictional question.
• Decide your response category. Full admission (Section A of AF2021-29), dispute (Section B), or counterclaim (Section C). You can combine partial admission with a dispute or a counterclaim.

Week 2: Gather Evidence and Draft

• Collect all documents related to the dispute. Contracts, invoices, receipts, emails, text messages, photographs, inspection reports. Organise them chronologically.
• Draft Section B or C of Form AF2021-29. You do not need legal submissions — brief factual statements explaining why you dispute the claim (or the basis for your counterclaim) are enough at this stage.
• Calculate any counterclaim fee. Responding is free. Filing a counterclaim under Section C incurs a fee based on the counterclaim amount and whether you are an individual or corporation. Check the Court Procedures (Fees) Determination 2026.
• If a non-lawyer represents your company, complete the Authority to Act for a Corporation form. A person authorised to act for the company signs it, and it lodges with the response with a company search.
• List unavailable dates for the next three months (Section 4 of AF2021-29). The registry uses these to schedule the Directions Hearing.

Week 3: Lodge and Serve

• Review the complete form one final time. Every section filled, signed and dated by all named respondents (or their authorised representative).
• Choose your lodgement method. Counter at 15 London Circuit (9 AM–4:30 PM business days), post to GPO Box 370 Canberra ACT 2601, or email to [email protected] (only if the total bundle, including required service copies, is under 40 pages and has no more than 3 attachments; arrange to pay any fee or make a request about payment).
• If paying a counterclaim fee in person, bring a debit or credit card (AMEX not accepted). By post, enclose a completed Credit Card Payment Authorisation Form or a bank cheque.
• Keep proof of lodgement. If receipt is unclear, contact the registry promptly. The due date in ACAT's correspondence still applies.
• Serve the applicant. Once the registry processes your response, they serve a copy on the applicant. If you filed a counterclaim or third-party notice, confirm with the registry that service has been completed.

After Filing: Prepare for the Directions Hearing

Filing the response does not end the process — it starts the next phase. The ACAT Registry will issue a Notice of Directions Hearing. Prepare by:

• Re-reading the application and your response side by side to identify the real points of disagreement
• Organising your evidence into a bundle (chronological, paginated, with an index)
• Noting any settlement proposals you want to make at the hearing
• Confirming your attendance or arranging for your representative to attend

The full process — from paper verification through the hearing and post-order steps — is laid out in the ACAT Response Guide, which includes a printable deadline calculator and evidence index templates.

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