Where we are unable to resolve an objection internally, customers may seek to have their matter determined by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) or the Supreme Court.
In 2024–25, we received 133 requests seeking referrals to VCAT or the courts, including appeals by either party.
Our legal specialists resolve most cases without the need for litigation, either before or after the matters are referred to VCAT or set down for a Supreme Court appeal. However, some matters can only be resolved by substantive hearings (see our legal cases overview).
Of the few matters that proceeded to hearing, the Commissioner’s original decisions and assessments were substantially upheld in 82% of the 22 cases conducted this financial year.
Table 24: Managing appeals 2024–25
| 2024–25 | BTW | CGL | Duties* | FHOG | LTX† | PTX | UCM | CPVSL | GAIC | WGT | Other‡ | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appeals received | 0 | 0 | 47 | 6 | 69 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 133 | |
| Taxpayer appeals dismissed at hearing (judgement in favour of the Commissioner) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 82% (18/22) |
| Taxpayer appeals upheld at hearing (judgement in favour of taxpayer) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Matters settled before hearing | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | |
| Appeals completed§ | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 52 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 |
* Includes landholder duty and foreign purchaser additional duty.
† Includes vacant residential land tax.
‡ Includes non-statutory appeal litigation, including contested debt recovery, contested subpoena, refund proceedings, administrative law proceedings and non-revenue line litigation.
§ Includes multiple matters heard together and matters for completed contested hearings that are unreported at time of publication.
BTW – Back to Work, CGL – congestion levy, FHOG – First Home Owner Grant, LTX – land tax, PTX – payroll tax, UCM – unclaimed money, CPVSL – commercial passenger vehicle service levy, GAIC – growth areas infrastructure contribution, WGT – windfall gains tax.