NCAT Adjournment Application: How to Postpone a Hearing

When You Need More Time

Your NCAT hearing is listed for next Tuesday. Your independent mechanic's report will not be ready until Friday. Or you have a medical procedure scheduled that morning. Or a key witness is overseas and cannot attend. You need an adjournment — a postponement of the hearing to a later date.

NCAT has discretion to grant adjournments, but the tribunal balances your need for more time against the other party's right to have the matter resolved. Adjournments are not automatic, and last-minute requests face scrutiny.

Valid Grounds for an Adjournment

Examples of reasons for an adjournment request include:

• Medical emergency or illness — supported by a medical certificate explaining why you cannot attend on the listed date
• Unavailable evidence — a critical expert report or document is not yet ready, and you can show you requested it in time but the third party has not delivered
• Witness unavailability — a key witness is genuinely unable to attend on the hearing date (not simply unwilling)
• Legal representation — you have recently engaged a lawyer or advocate and they need time to prepare (in consumer claims, this also requires leave for representation under section 45 of the CATA)
• Personal hardship — a bereavement, caring emergency, or genuinely unavoidable conflict

The tribunal is less sympathetic to vague requests ("I need more time to prepare"), requests made on the day of the hearing without prior notice, or repeated adjournments by the same party.

How to Apply

Before the hearing date — make the request as soon as possible. Contact all other parties first and ask whether they agree. Then complete NCAT's Adjournment Request form and lodge it as a secondary form on your case through NCAT Online Services. Attach supporting documents and the other parties' responses. Do not assume the hearing date has changed unless NCAT confirms it.

On the day of the hearing — if an emergency arises, contact the Registry immediately. Attend the hearing (in person, by phone, or by video) if you can, even if only to make the adjournment application. Failing to attend without notice risks having your application dismissed for want of prosecution (if you are the applicant) or an ex parte hearing proceeding without you (if you are the respondent).

What Happens When an Adjournment Is Granted

The member relists the matter for a new date based on available listings. The member may also issue fresh procedural directions — for example, requiring you to file your evidence by a specific date before the new hearing.

Any existing orders or directions remain in force unless the member specifically varies them. If NCAT changes an evidence deadline, follow the new date in the directions; a prior deadline does not reset automatically when the hearing is adjourned.

What Happens When It Is Refused

If the member refuses the adjournment, the hearing proceeds on the listed date. You present whatever evidence you have. If a report is missing, you may ask the member to receive it after the hearing subject to leave — but there is no guarantee that will be granted.

An adjournment refusal is an interlocutory decision, and an internal appeal requires leave. If the refusal meant you could not participate, seek prompt legal advice about the available review or appeal process.

Avoiding the Need for Adjournments

Most adjournments stem from evidence that was requested too late. Commission your independent expert report as soon as you file your application, not after you receive the hearing notice. Confirm witness availability early. Prepare your evidence bundle in stages rather than leaving everything to the week before the hearing.

The NCAT Consumer Claim Guide for NSW includes a Statutory Deadline Calendar that maps every milestone, helping you stay ahead of procedural deadlines.

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