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CASE STUDY / VICTORIA
VCAT · Arrears, absence and review(Residential Tenancies) [2023] VCAT 11
Follow the relationship between procedural opportunities and substantive evidence through review, repayment and stay decisions.
Based on Tenants Victoria’s 2026 digest §3.8; full reasons were inaccessible. The digest does not provide complete reasons for each early permission or adjournment. The 5 January 2023 decision date is not labelled an oral hearing.
01 / TIMELINE
Verified procedural milestones. Dates of applications, hearings and published decisions are distinguished; an event is not necessarily a hearing.
2022-02-14 → 2022-03-09
Arrears NTV; later PO applicationBackground / application2022-06-29
First absent hearing ↗Hearing / order node2022-07-01 → 2022-07-22
Review filed; reopening granted ↗Hearing / order node2022-08-10
Repayment plan ordered ↗Hearing / order nodeAfter 31 August; exact date unreported
First return adjourned again ↗Hearing / order node2022-09-26
Second absent hearing and PO ↗Hearing / order node2022-09-27 → 2022-10-03
Further review permission sought and granted ↗Hearing / order node2022-10-20
Absence at review hearing ↗Hearing / order node2022-10-28
Further permission and stay ↗Hearing / order node2022-11-03
Adjournment for legal instructions ↗Hearing / order node2022-11-10
Hearing arranged for medical needs ↗Hearing / order node2022-11-15
Review hearing and financial material ↗Hearing / order node2023-01-05
Final decision delivered ↗Hearing / order node02 / WHAT WAS DECIDED, AND WHY
Unknown details are marked. Background descriptions and statutory frameworks are not presented as verified reasons for an unavailable order.
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
Source：Tenants Victoria 2026 case digest §3.8, printed pp.14–15 ↗
03 / PRACTICAL LESSONS
The suggestions below are this guide’s application of the material, not additional court findings or personalised legal advice.
Use separate chronologies and evidence references for the excuse and the defence.
Show current-rent and arrears payments, budget and income; explain what changed after any earlier failure.
Check scope, expiry and conditions; permission to apply is not a final tenancy outcome.
Seek help promptly, obey evidence directions and arrange suitable participation.
This does not establish unlimited reviews or automatic stays. Early procedural relief did not prevent the final possession outcome; missing reasons require original orders or full reasons.
04 / SOURCES & READING
Check full reasons, original orders, subsequent history and current law before relying on an individual proposition. VCAT decisions generally do not bind other members.