VCAT Declaration of Service: How to Serve Documents and Prove It

Why Service Matters at VCAT

Every document you file at VCAT — your Points of Defence, evidence bundle, witness statements, counterclaim application — must also be served on the other party. Filing with the tribunal and serving the other side are two separate obligations, and missing either one causes problems.

If you file your Points of Defence through myVCAT but never send a copy to the applicant, you have not completed service. VCAT can adjourn the hearing with costs against you, refuse to consider your evidence, or treat your response as incomplete.

The Declaration of Service is the form that proves you served the documents. It must be lodged with VCAT at least seven days before the hearing.

Valid Methods of Service

VCAT accepts several service methods, depending on who the other party is:

Personal delivery: Hand the documents directly to the other party. For a company, service may be made at the registered office or by delivering a copy personally to an Australian-resident director under Section 109X of the Corporations Act.

Post: Send by ordinary or registered post to the party's residential address, business address, or registered office. Send it early enough to meet the applicable deadline and keep the posting receipt.

Email: Permitted if the other party previously consented to receiving documents electronically, or if email was the established communication channel during the underlying transaction. In practice, if your entire dealing with the other party was over email, serving by email is usually acceptable.

myVCAT portal: Uploading documents to the myVCAT portal files them with the tribunal. It does not serve the other party. You still need to send the documents directly by post or email.

Serving Businesses and Companies

The service address depends on the business structure:

• Sole trader or partnership: Serve at the business address on the ASIC Business Names Extract, or by personal delivery
• Pty Ltd company: Under Section 109X of the Corporations Act 2001, service may be made at the registered office on the ASIC Current Company Extract or by personal delivery to an Australian-resident director. A shopfront or branch is not a substitute for the registered office unless ASIC lists it as such.
• Individual: Serve at their residential address or by personal delivery

Getting the right address matters. If you rely on service at a company's registered office, check it against the ASIC extract; a trading address by itself may not be enough. Check the ASIC register at asic.gov.au before serving.

The 14-Day Evidence Exchange Rule

For in-person hearings, both parties must serve copies of all supporting evidence on each other at least 14 days before the final hearing date. For telephone or videoconference hearings, evidence must be emailed to both VCAT and the other party by the deadline specified in the directions order or hearing notice.

This deadline is strict. Evidence served late may be excluded from the hearing, leaving you without proof to support your defence or counterclaim.

How to Complete the Declaration of Service

The Declaration of Service is a signed form confirming:

1. What documents you served (list each document by name)
2. When you served them (exact date)
3. How you served them (post, email, personal delivery)
4. Who you served (full name, and address or email used)

Lodge the completed Declaration with VCAT at least seven days before the hearing. The time needed to deliver documents is separate from this filing deadline, so send them early enough to arrive before the applicable VCAT deadline.

Keep proof of service for your own records: a registered post receipt, a screenshot of the sent email with the attachment visible, or a dated note of personal delivery with the name of the person who accepted the documents.

When You Are the Respondent Being Served

If you have been served with VCAT papers and want to verify that service was valid, check whether the documents arrived at your current residential or business address (not a former address you have since left), whether they include an official VCAT Notice of Application with a case reference number, and whether they were sent by a method VCAT recognises.

If you suspect the papers are fraudulent, contact VCAT directly on 1300 01 8228 to verify the case reference number. Never use contact details printed on suspicious documents.

For the full VCAT response procedure — from verifying the papers through to the hearing — the step-by-step guide covers everything a respondent needs.

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