You know you're owed money. You just don't know which form to file, whether your dispute even belongs at the Tribunal, or what happens once you lodge.
The contractor took your deposit and disappeared. The retailer refused the refund. The sole trader invoiced you for work that was never finished. You have sent messages, left voicemails, maybe even posted a letter — and nothing.
You know the Disputes Tribunal exists. You have been on the website. And you have spent an evening clicking between the online filing portal, the forms page, the fees page, and the "what you'll need" page — trying to work out whether your dispute qualifies, what the filing fee is, how to identify the other side's legal name, and how to turn a folder of screenshots and invoices into something a Referee can follow.
The information is all there. It is scattered across government pages with no clear order and no way to print a single document that walks you from "I'm owed money" to "I'm sitting in front of the Referee with my evidence organised."
The Disputes Tribunal Filing Navigation System
This guide turns the Tribunal's fragmented online information into a single, printable execution plan. Every step is in order, every form is named, every fee is current, and every deadline is mapped — from checking whether your dispute fits the Tribunal's NZ$60,000 jurisdiction through to enforcement if the other side does not pay.
It is not legal advice. It does not predict whether you will win. It does not replace the free help available from Citizens Advice Bureau and Community Law Centres. What it does is put every procedural step in one place so you are not guessing what comes next.
What's Inside
- Forum Decision Tree — before you pay the filing fee, confirm your dispute belongs in the Disputes Tribunal and not the Tenancy Tribunal, the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal, or the District Court. Filing in the wrong forum wastes a non-refundable fee and delays resolution by weeks while you refile.
- Respondent Verification Worksheet — step-by-step fields for searching the Companies Office and NZBN registers so you name the correct legal entity on your application, not the trading name on the invoice. An order against the wrong name is unenforceable against the company's assets.
- Demand Letter Template — a neutral, firm letter framework with fields for the facts, the amount claimed, and a 10–14 working day response deadline. Sending a demand first creates an exhibit for the hearing and often settles the dispute without filing.
- Offline Application Drafting Worksheet — draft your entire claim narrative, respondent details, and loss calculation offline before opening the Ministry of Justice portal. The portal cannot save your progress mid-session — a disconnection or timeout wipes everything you typed.
- Evidence Preparation Worksheet — a paginated index template for organising contracts, invoices, photos, text messages, and email chains into a numbered evidence bundle. Referees work from page numbers, not loose piles.
- Hearing Day Summary Sheet — a structured one-page outline for presenting your case: key allegations, exhibit references, and the specific remedy you are requesting. Keeps you on track when the Referee asks "what exactly are you claiming?"
- Filing Fee Calculator — match your claim amount to the current GST-inclusive fee tier (NZ$62 / NZ$124 / NZ$248 / NZ$496 from 1 July 2026) before you open the portal.
- Deadline Calendar — tracks evidence exchange, interpreter requests, the 20-working-day rehearing window, and the appeal filing deadline. The Tribunal does not send deadline reminders — the calendar keeps every window visible.
- Enforcement Checklist — if the respondent does not comply with the order, this covers the steps for applying to the District Court for enforcement.
Who This Is For
- Homeowners chasing a contractor who took a deposit and never started or finished the work
- Sole traders and freelancers with a genuinely disputed unpaid invoice — not an admitted debt, which goes to the District Court instead
- Consumers refused a refund for defective goods or services under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993
- Private vehicle buyers or sellers dealing with misrepresentation in a private sale (registered dealer disputes go to the MVDT)
- Neighbours with property damage or fencing disputes up to NZ$60,000
- Anyone in New Zealand who has sent a demand and needs the filing, service, evidence, and hearing steps in order
Why Not Just Use the Free Information?
You should use the free information. The Disputes Tribunal website, Citizens Advice Bureau (0800 367 222), and Community Law Centres all publish accurate procedural guidance — and the guide links directly to every one.
The gap is not accuracy. It is organisation. The official site spreads the application process across separate pages for different dispute types, forms, fees, and service rules. Each page covers its own scope. None of them puts your steps in order from demand letter to hearing. None gives you a printable forum decision tree. None provides an offline drafting worksheet for the portal that cannot save your work, an evidence indexing template, or a deadline calendar you can fill in as dates arrive.
Registry staff cannot fill that gap either. They process forms and payments — they are not permitted to advise which form to file, how to word your claim, or how to organise your evidence. Community Law appointments are excellent but carry waiting periods and do not provide ongoing case management through to the hearing.
The guide does not contain secret information. It consolidates what is already free into a format you can execute without a dozen browser tabs open.
What This Guide Does Not Do
- It does not give legal advice or tell you whether your claim will succeed
- It does not speak for the Disputes Tribunal, the Ministry of Justice, or any government department
- It does not replace a lawyer for complex disputes or claims approaching the NZ$60,000 ceiling
- It does not cover responding to a claim you have been served with (see the companion NZ Disputes Tribunal Response Guide) or enforcing an unpaid order (see the NZ Disputes Tribunal Order Enforcement Guide)
Full Refund, No Time Limit
If the guide is not what you expected, email [email protected] for a full refund. No time limit, no questions.
Start With the Free Checklist
Not sure yet? Download the free NZ Disputes Tribunal Filing Checklist — a printable overview covering the monetary limit, filing fee tiers, forum exclusion checks, respondent verification steps, and key deadlines. If you need the full step-by-step system with worksheets, templates, and the evidence indexing system, the complete guide is here when you are ready.