Commercial Litigation Lawyers Brisbane

How do commercial disputes work in Queensland?

If someone owes your business money, or a contract has gone wrong, the first question in Queensland is simply: how much is in dispute? The answer decides where the matter goes.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) deals with minor civil disputes of up to and including $25,000 (for a minor debt, not counting interest). That covers minor debts (a fixed or agreed sum of money) and disputes between a consumer and a trader, or between two traders, about goods or services. Above that, Queensland Courts allocate money claims by amount: the Magistrates Court hears claims up to $150,000, the District Court hears claims from $150,001 to $750,000, and the Supreme Court hears claims over $750,000 or cases that are complex.

Court claims run under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), usually shortened to the UCPR, which set the forms, deadlines and costs consequences. Tribunal matters run under the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld) and are less formal.

Many business disputes also rely on the Australian Consumer Law, for example claims about misleading or deceptive conduct. That law applies in Queensland through the Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld).

Where are Brisbane commercial disputes heard?

For people and businesses in Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Newstead, Bowen Hills, Spring Hill and South Brisbane, the main venues are all in the Brisbane CBD.

QCAT's Brisbane registry is at Level 8, 259 Queen Street, Brisbane. Outside the Brisbane CBD, QCAT operates through local Magistrates Courts.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court is at 363 George Street, Brisbane. This is where most debt and contract claims of $150,000 or less are filed.

The District Court and the Supreme Court in Brisbane both sit in the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law at 415 George Street, Brisbane.

Some commercial disputes belong in the federal system instead. Claims under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), such as an application to set aside a statutory demand, can be brought in the Supreme Court of Queensland or the Federal Court of Australia. If you start a civil case in the Federal Court, the Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth) generally requires you to file a genuine steps statement, a short document explaining what you did to try to resolve the dispute first. Some types of proceedings are excluded.

What should you do before starting a claim?

For an ordinary debt or contract claim, Queensland's court rules do not set out a single compulsory pre-action checklist. What you do before filing still matters a great deal.

Start by gathering the paper trail: the contract or quote, invoices, emails, text messages, delivery records and any admission that the money is owed. Then check who you are actually dealing with, whether a person, a partnership or a company, because a judgment against the wrong name is very hard to enforce.

Most matters begin with a letter of demand. This is a written request that sets out what is owed, why, and the date by which you expect payment before you take legal action. A clear letter often prompts payment or a negotiation.

Settlement is encouraged throughout the Queensland process. In QCAT, minor debt claims of more than $1,500 are listed for mediation before any hearing, while smaller claims go straight to a hearing. In the Magistrates Court, once a defence has been filed the court may direct a settlement conference, which is a meeting aimed at resolving the case or narrowing the issues. Under the UCPR, either side can also make a formal written offer to settle. If the offer is rejected and the final result is no better for the party who rejected it, that can change who pays legal costs.

How does debt recovery and enforcement work in Queensland?

In QCAT, you file a minor debt application and serve it on the other party yourself. The respondent then has 28 days to file a response. If they do not, you can ask QCAT for a decision by default, meaning a decision made in your favour without a hearing. Two points catch people out. A respondent in a minor debt dispute cannot bring a counterclaim, and QCAT's published timeframes (figures as at 16 March 2026) show that about three quarters of minor debt disputes were finalised within 51 weeks.

In the courts, you file a claim and a statement of claim. The claim stays in force for one year from filing and must be served on the defendant, generally in person, within that time. The defendant has 28 days after service to file a notice of intention to defend and a defence. If they do nothing, you can request default judgment. A defendant with a good reason, such as never having received the claim, can apply to have a default judgment set aside, and should act quickly.

If the debtor still does not pay after judgment, Queensland's options include an enforcement hearing, where the debtor must disclose their finances, and enforcement warrants. A warrant can authorise seizure and sale of property, redirection of part of the debtor's earnings, or redirection of money held in a bank account or owed to the debtor by someone else. A QCAT money decision can be filed in the appropriate court, without a filing fee, and then enforced as a court order. Enforcement can start without the court's permission within six years of the order being made.

If the debtor is a company, a creditor's statutory demand under section 459E of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is another path. The debt must be at least $4,000 and must be due and payable. The company has 21 days to pay, or to apply to court to set the demand aside, for example because there is a genuine dispute about the debt. If it does neither, the creditor can apply to wind the company up and the court must presume it is insolvent. A company that receives one should treat the 21 days as strict.

How long do you have, and who pays the legal costs?

Under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), a claim based on a contract, or on most civil wrongs that do not involve personal injury, must be started within six years from the date the cause of action arose. For a debt, that is usually the date payment fell due. A written and signed acknowledgment of the debt, or a part payment, can restart that clock. QCAT applies a similar filter: its guidance says the agreement behind a minor debt must have been made no more than six years ago. An action on a judgment cannot be brought after 12 years from when the judgment became enforceable.

Costs work differently depending on where you are. In Queensland courts, costs are at the court's discretion but generally follow the event, which means the unsuccessful party is usually ordered to pay a portion of the successful party's legal costs. In the Magistrates Court, the magistrate may fix the amount. In a QCAT minor debt dispute, what you can recover is limited to items such as the application fee and certain service and search fees, not general legal costs. You also need QCAT's permission to be legally represented, which is given only where it is in the interests of justice.

How is Queensland different from other states?

Every state has its own courts, tribunals and money limits, so guidance written for New South Wales or Victoria will not map neatly onto a Brisbane dispute. New South Wales uses the Local Court and NCAT, and Victoria pairs its courts with its own state tribunal, each with different thresholds and procedures.

Two Queensland features stand out. QCAT's minor debt jurisdiction is open to businesses as well as individuals for fixed debts up to $25,000. And the Magistrates Court limit of $150,000 keeps many everyday commercial claims in Brisbane out of the higher courts. Statutory demands are the exception to all of this: they are governed by federal law, so the $4,000 minimum and 21-day deadline are the same nationwide.