In October 2025, the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW held a virtual presentation and panel to launch two comprehensive research reports examining tenancy dispute resolution from both a data-driven and lived experience perspective.
Report authors Dr Kerryn Butler and Kate Davies appeared alongside a panel of sector experts including Tenants’ Union, housing providers, and tenant’s advocates to delve into the findings and explore what fair and accessible dispute resolution could look like in the future.
Hosts
Dr Kate Davies and Dr Kerryn Butler – Law and Justice Foundation of NSW
Panellists
Leo Patterson-Ross – CEO, Tenants Union
Emma McGuire – Coordinator, Mid Coast Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
Julie Cleary – Training Manager, Community Housing Industry Association NSW
View the reports:
The reports were a culmination of extensive fieldwork for a qualitative study exploring how people experience tenancy disputes, and the analysis of nearly 40,000 tenancy applications finalised in 2024 for a quantitive study.
For the first time, administrative data is combined with rich qualitative insights from interviews, observations, and ethnographic fieldwork.
Findings reveal that while disputes are often processed efficiently, human experience exposes opportunities to improve fairness, safety, and accessibility – particularly through better conciliation support and structural equity measures.
As NSW reviews NCAT’s role in the evolving rental landscape, this research provides crucial evidence about where the system works well and the hidden complexity behind seemingly straightforward case resolution.