What claims can the Court hear?
Competition and Consumer Act
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (the Court) has jurisdiction under various provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Jurisdiction is conferred on the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in any matter arising under section 46, Part IVB or IVBB, section 55B, subsection 56BO(1) or 56BU(1), section 56BZA, 56BZB or 56BZC, subsection 56BZD(1), section 56BZJ, Part IVE, a civil penalty provision of a gas market instrument or a civil penalty provision of the consumer data rules in respect of which a civil proceeding is instituted by a person other than the Minister (see section 86).
The Court has power to provide injunctive relief and award damages up to $750,000.
Credit Protection Act
The Court also has jurisdiction over consumer credit matters under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
For some compensation matters, you can ask that your application for an order covered by subsection 199(2) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 be dealt with as a small claim where the amount involved is up to $40,000 or the value of the contract under which the dispute arose is up to $40,000.
The small claims process is more informal than most court proceedings and is usually conducted without lawyers. The process aims to settle disputes quickly and fairly, with minimum expense to the parties. Matters are usually resolved with only one hearing.
Rules about the conduct of small claim applications in the Court can be found in part 29 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025.
