I can't speak for CAT's outside NSW, but in NSW, under section 45 of the «Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW)», a party (including a company that is the respondent) is not entitled to be represented by any person unless NCAT grants leave (permission) for representation[0], which is a separate step – the company must seek leave first for each case.

Only certain NCAT case types give an automatic right to representation, so a company can have a «lawyer» appear without seeking leave. NCAT’s own guidance[1] lists these as:

  Administrative review and regulation

  Professional discipline

  Retail leases

Since I do not know the nature and specifics of your Australian organisation, I have nothing else of significance to contribute on that particular topic.

To sum it up, the most common dispute scenarios involve the following sequence of events: consumer ↝ complaint department ↝ state/federal level regulator, e.g. Department of Fair Trading (NSW), ACCC (federal) or similar ↝ ombudsman or xCAT or a court. The regulatorory step can sometimes be skipped.

[0] https://ncat.nsw.gov.au/how-ncat-works/prepare-for-your-hear...

[1] https://ncat.nsw.gov.au/how-ncat-works/prepare-for-your-hear...