Complaints about Residential Tenancy and Intervention Order matters

Presented by the Judicial Commission of Victoria (the Commission), this session will increase your awareness of the conduct expected of judicial officers in court cases, the types of complaints we can investigate and explain why some are dismissed.  

The Commission was established in 2016 under the Constitution Act 1975 (Vic) as an independent body to investigate complaints about the conduct or capacity of judicial officers and members of VCAT. The Judicial Commission of Victoria Act 2016 (JCV Act) governs the process for investigating complaints about judicial officers and members of VCAT.

In 2024–2025, the majority of complaints received by the Commission related to matters about intervention orders and residential tenancies, with that trend continuing into this financial year. Whilst framed as being about conduct, most of the complaints made are really about the complainant’s dissatisfaction with the officer’s decision, assessment of the evidence or some other core responsibility of a judicial officer.

In this session, you will learn about:

• the role of the judicial officer
• guidelines about expected judicial conduct 
• the Commission’s role and the types of complaints it can investigate
• how to make a complaint about judicial conduct or capacity
• how the guidelines are used when assessing and investigating complaints
• common reasons complaints are dismissed, speaking specifically to intervention order and residential tenancy matters.

This session is for members of the general public, particularly those involved in matters at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria or VCAT.