Allowances
QCAT may give a written notice requiring a person to attend a hearing to give evidence or to produce a document or thing to the tribunal. A person who is given a written notice requiring them to attend a hearing to give evidence is entitled to:
- conduct money, and
- the relevant witness attendance allowance.
A person given a written notice requiring them to produce a document or thing to the tribunal is entitled to conduct money.
Who pays the allowances?
If you asked QCAT to give the written notice, you must pay the allowances. If QCAT gave the notice on its own initiative, all parties must pay the allowances in the proportions the tribunal decides.
Time limits for paying allowances
Conduct money must be paid at the time the person is given the written notice or within a reasonable time before the person is required to attend the hearing or produce a document or thing to the tribunal.
The relevant witness attendance allowance must be paid within a reasonable time after the witness attends the hearing.
Conduct money
Conduct money must be an amount sufficient to meet the reasonable expenses for the person attending the hearing or producing a document or thing to the tribunal. If the reasonable expenses involve travel and accommodation expenses, these expenses are to be calculated as set out below.
Travel expenses
The amount of travel expenses payable is:
- the amount payable for fares on public transport for return travel between the person’s place of employment, practice or residence (whichever is the furthest from the tribunal) and the tribunal; or
- if there is no public transport which is conveniently available - the amount calculated at the rate per kilometre payable under the Public Service Act 2008 to a public service employee required to use the employee’s private motor vehicle for official purposes, taken to the nearest whole cent.
If it is reasonable for the person to travel to and from the tribunal by air, the amount of the travel expenses to be paid is the amount payable for economy class air travel by the person to and from the tribunal.
Accommodation expenses
The amount of accommodation expenses payable is the amount calculated at the rate payable under the Public Service Act 2008 to a public service officer.
Witness attendance allowances
The following allowances are applicable from 1 July 2023.
Non-professional witness attendance allowance
For each day or part of a day the witness is necessarily absent from their place of employment, practice or residence:
| If the witness is under 16 | $47.35 |
| If the witness is 16 or older | $94.60 |
Professional or expert witness attendance allowance*
For each day or part of a day the witness is necessarily absent from their place of employment, practice or residence:
| For absence of 3 hours or less | $110.50 |
| For absence of more than 3 hours but not more than 4 hours | $153.20 |
| For absence of more than 4 hours but not more than 5 hours | $186.50 |
| For absence of more than 5 hours but not more than 6 hours | $219.90 |
| For absence of more than 6 hours but not more than 7 hours | $266.70 |
| For a day (an absence of more than 7 hours) | $293.10 |
If the witness is a doctor who is employed under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 as a health service employee at a public sector hospital, the allowance payable for each day or part of a day of necessary absence from the hospital at which the person is employed is: | $97.30 |
* Travel time is to be taken into account for deciding the amount of the allowance. If the amount payable is for a supply on which GST is payable, the amount payable is to be increased to take account of GST.