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In addition to the ordinary courts within the hierarchies, there are certain courts and tribunals set up to deal with special cases.
Perhaps the best known of these is the Family Court, established by the Commonwealth under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Other examples are the coroners' courts, mining courts and courts or tribunals that deal with industrial and employment matters. There is often a right of appeal from these special courts or tribunals to superior courts within the relevant hierarchy.
Litigation is slow and expensive and in an effort to provide cheaper and easier access to the law, various other tribunals have been created to perform the function of hearing and enforcing disputes, without the full procedures or costs that litigation in the ordinary courts involves. One good example is the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which has jurisdiction to hear a wide range of matters, including commercial disputes.
Click here to see the VCAT homepage.
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