Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Sure, but if it's a corporation, who is going to represent the corporation besides a lawyer? Under common law, lawyers (in the US sense) are not required on either side in the case of handling a dispute or a small claim. Specifically in Australia, the company would have a complaint department, and the case would be dealt with by a complaint officer, not a lawyer. If the scope of the case exceeds the tribunal's auth…
Hi, I’m closely involved in xCAT cases for my Australian organisation. We send an in-house lawyer to represent us at every mediation and hearing. Every complaint that goes to an official body is dealt with by the lawyers at that point. Only if they complain directly to us does our “complaints department” handle it.
Only certain NCAT case types give an automatic right to representation, so a company can have a «lawyer» appear without seeking leave. NCAT’s own guidance[1] lists these as:
Administrative review and regulation
Professional discipline
Retail leases
Then there is also a separate provision in the Consumer and Commercial Division for high value claims (e.g. over AU$30k) – NCAT’s guideline indicates it will usually permit legal representation where the other party has a lawyer, where there are complex issues, or where a party would be disadvantaged without representation.Since I do not know the nature and specifics of your Australian organisation, I have nothing else of significance to contribute on that particular topic.
To sum it up, the most common dispute scenarios involve the following sequence of events: consumer ↝ complaint department ↝ state/federal level regulator, e.g. Department of Fair Trading (NSW), ACCC (federal) or similar ↝ ombudsman or xCAT or a court. The regulatorory step can sometimes be skipped.
[0] https://ncat.nsw.gov.au/how-ncat-works/prepare-for-your-hear...
[1] https://ncat.nsw.gov.au/how-ncat-works/prepare-for-your-hear...