NSW Fair Trading Minister, Linda Burney, today announced changes to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) Act that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Tribunal. 

Ms Burney said the CTTT Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament yesterday.

“The CTTT Act provides the framework for the Tribunal’s operations. Recently, the Office of Fair Trading undertook an extensive review of the Act in consultation with stakeholders,” Ms Burney said.

“The Tribunal was set up in 2002 as an independent body to hear disputes about retail transactions, motor vehicle purchase and repair, credit matters, real estate agents’ and conveyancers’ fees, residential tenancies, home building, strata and community schemes, residential parks and retirement villages. 

“The Tribunal receives more than 64,000 applications each year.  The majority of disputes are resolved within one month and about 70% are resolved within 35 days of lodging applications.

“The review recommended a number of changes to the Act to improve the Tribunal’s capacity to deal effectively with disputes.”

Some of the significant reforms passed by Parliament include:

• enhancing the qualification requirements for members of the Tribunal by requiring that they have ability or experience in alternative dispute resolution procedures
• establishing a Professional Practice and Review Committee to advise on member training, complaints and performance management 
• a requirement for sound recording of Tribunal proceedings where reasonably practical to increase transparency of proceedings and to help resolve complaints
• creation of a new Social Housing Division that will enable these specialised and often complex cases to be dealt with appropriately without delaying mainstream tenancy matters
• allowing for a second rehearing application to be made if there is new evidence of a substantial injustice that may be suffered by a party to Tribunal proceedings.

Other miscellaneous reforms will streamline the Tribunal’s administrative procedures, which will allow it to provide better and faster services to the parties in dispute, especially where they have been able to reach an agreement before their hearing.

For a full brief on changes to the CTTT bill, visit www.cttt.nsw.gov.au and click on the ‘What’s New’ section.

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