myVCAT Portal: How to File a Goods and Services Application Online

What myVCAT Is

Since 6 December 2023, myVCAT has been VCAT's standard online pathway for goods and services applications. If you cannot use the portal, you can request a paper application from VCAT's Principal Registry at 55 King Street, Melbourne.

myVCAT handles everything from filing to hearing: you submit your application, pay the fee, upload documents, receive directions orders, exchange evidence, and track your case status — all through the one portal.

Setting Up Your Account

Start at the myVCAT login page. You'll create an individual account with your name, email, and a password. Corporate accounts require a designated authorised user. Don't share login credentials between different legal entities — VCAT's terms prohibit it, and it creates confusion about who filed what.

Once your account is active, you can start a new application or save a draft and come back to it later. Drafts sit in your dashboard until you submit them.

What You Need Before You Start

Prepare everything offline before you log in. The portal uses structured data fields, not free-form text boxes, so you need specifics ready:

Party details. Your full legal name, address, phone, and email. The respondent's full legal name (checked against ASIC or ABN Lookup), their ACN or ABN, their physical address for service, and their email.

Dispute category. You're applying under "Goods and services" in the Civil Claims List. The portal asks whether your dispute arises from a Victorian transaction and whether it involves Commonwealth law or interstate parties — these questions filter out matters VCAT can't hear.

Claim value and remedy. How much you're claiming, and what you want the tribunal to do: order payment, rescind a contract, order a repair, or declare a debt.

Dispute summary in numbered paragraphs. This is your Points of Claim. The portal expects concise, numbered paragraphs: (1) the parties, (2) the agreement, (3) what happened, (4) the breach, (5) the amount, (6) what you want. Draft this in a word processor first so you can edit it properly before pasting it in.

Attachments as PDFs. Your underlying contract, invoices, the letter of demand, any photos or correspondence, and (if you're a business claiming the standard fee rate) the turnover statutory declaration confirming your gross annual turnover is under $300,000.

Walking Through the Application

The portal guides you through several screens:

1. Application type — select "Goods and services."
2. Applicant details — enter your information.
3. Respondent details — enter the respondent's legal name, address, and contact details. You can add multiple respondents.
4. Dispute details — enter your claim amount, select the remedy type, confirm the dispute is Victorian and does not involve federal law.
5. Claim narrative — paste your numbered Points of Claim.
6. Documents — upload your supporting PDFs.
7. Fee payment — pay by Visa or Mastercard. The system shows your fee tier (concession, standard, or corporate) based on the details you've entered.
8. Review and submit — check everything, then submit.

After submission, the application moves to "Submitted" status while VCAT's registry staff review it. If everything is in order, they accept it and issue a VCAT case number and a timetable order. Registry acceptance does not mean VCAT has decided it has jurisdiction — the respondent can still challenge that later.

Common Portal Pitfalls

Unstructured claim text. If you paste in a narrative essay instead of numbered paragraphs, expect the registry to send it back with directions to re-draft.

Wrong file formats. Stick to PDFs. Large image files or Word documents can cause upload issues.

Missing the respondent's legal name. "Bob's Tiling" is a trading name, not a legal entity. The portal needs the person or company behind it.

Forgetting the statutory declaration. If you're a business claiming the standard fee rate, the turnover stat dec is mandatory. Without it, you'll be charged the corporate rate.

Can You Still File on Paper?

Yes. If you cannot use myVCAT, request a paper application from VCAT's Principal Registry at 55 King Street, Melbourne. You can lodge the paper application by post or at a VCAT registry counter. Pay the fee within 30 days of the invoice.

Our VCAT Civil Claim Filing Guide includes an offline draft worksheet that mirrors the myVCAT fields — fill it out at your own pace, then transfer the answers into the portal when you're ready.

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