Amendments to the Consumer Claims Act 1998 applied from 1 March 2008 which are important to consumers making an application in the CTTT's General and Motor Vehicles divisions.

The CTTT has jurisdiction if the goods or services were supplied in NSW, as well as when the contract was made in NSW.

The time period for applying to the CTTT is now 3 years from the date when the cause of action accrued.  However, action must still be commenced within 10 years of supply of the goods or services.

The definition of a 'consumer claim' has been changed to make it clear that the CTTT has jurisdiction in matters where there was no direct contract between the parties, such as a claim by a consumer against a manufacturer.

The CTTT can now make orders between respondents, for example, when an order is made against a retailer to refund to the consumer, the CTTT will also be able to make an order that the manufacturer reimburse the retailer.  In this case both the retailer and the manufacturer would need to be listed as respondents.

The CTTT must dismiss or adjourn the matter if the applicant does not present his or her case.

Note - This amendment does not prevent the consumer arranging with the CTTT to present their case by other means if they cannot appear in person, for example, by submitting written or other evidence or using a representative if the CTTT consents to this.

Last year the Consumer Claims Regulation 2007 came into force on 1 September.  It increased the jurisdiction limit of the CTTT to $30,000.  A further amendment has been made to ensure that this limit also applies to orders between respondents.  This means the CTTT is able to make an order of up to $30,000 to be paid to the consumer and may also make an order for one respondent to pay up to $30,000 to another respondent.

View the Consumer Claims Amendment Act 2007 in PDF format (size: 229k)