Last Updated 17 August 2021

An appeal is available within the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) structure to the internal Appeal Tribunal. If the decision was made by a judicial member, an appeal lies to the Court of Appeal (a division of the Supreme Court). Appeals must be lodged within 28 days of the written reasons for a decision being provided, and in some cases leave is required before an appeal can be lodged.

An appeal is available within the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) structure to the Industrial Court of Queensland. Appeals must be lodged within 21 days of the date of the decision. 

Appeals involve complicated procedures and legal advice should always be taken about the grounds of any appeal, its likely success and the consequences if it fails.

Opinions

The Queensland Human Rights Commissioner can also request an opinion from QCAT or the QIRC as to how the Anti-discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) (Anti-discrimination Act) applies in a specific situation (s 228 Anti-discrimination Act). The tribunal will be constituted by a judicial member in these cases (s 228A Anti-discrimination Act), and the tribunal does not have to give an opinion (s 229 Anti-discrimination Act) but can choose to. Once an opinion has been obtained from the relevant tribunal, a complaint cannot be made to the commissioner against a person acting in accordance with such an opinion (s 231 Anti-discrimination Act). The opinion of the tribunal can be revoked (s 232 Anti-discrimination Act) and it can be appealed (s 233 Anti-discrimination Act).