This page describes the rules as each place’s regulator or law states them. It is not legal advice about any tenancy or listing. For a particular case, the places to check are Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland’s Residential Tenancies Authority, Consumer Protection WA, South Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1995 and the ACT Government’s Renting Book, each linked at the foot of this page where it is used; a tenancy advice service or a lawyer can advise on a particular case.
A disputed listing goes to VCAT in Victoria, QCAT in Queensland, the Magistrates Court in Western Australia, the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in South Australia, and ACAT in the ACT. Each can order a listing changed or removed, and some can stop one before it is made.
Where a dispute goes
| Place | First step | Who decides | What they can order |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | Asking the rental provider or agent who made the listing | VCAT | That a listing be changed or removed |
| QLD | Talking to the person who made the listing, then the RTA’s dispute resolution service | QCAT | That a person, agency or operator not list, or vary a listing with changes or conditions |
| WA | Negotiation; failing that, a complaint to Consumer Protection or an application to the court | The Magistrates Court | Removal in whole or part, a change, or for a proposed listing, no listing at all |
| SA | An application by the listed person, or by the Commissioner | The Tribunal | Whatever orders it thinks necessary or expedient to secure compliance with Part 5A |
| ACT | An application by the person listed, or about to be | ACAT | That a listing be prohibited, removed or amended, and compensation |
Victoria
A renter cannot ask the operator to change a listing. The request goes to the rental provider or agent who made it, and where nothing changes, VCAT can be asked to order the listing changed or removed. Consumer Affairs Victoria warns of significant penalties for not telling applicants about databases.
Queensland
A tenant can dispute a listing that is inaccurate, incomplete, ambiguous or out of date, or that does not meet the Act’s criteria. The RTA’s factsheet gives 6 months from becoming aware of a listing to start a dispute that it does not meet the criteria; its before-renting page states the same 6 months for disputes in general. The Residential Tenancies Authority’s dispute resolution service can help the two sides try to agree, particularly over a proposed listing, and a tenant can also go straight to QCAT. A complaint can also go to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Breaching the database laws carries up to 50 penalty units per offence for an individual. Ignoring a QCAT order about a listing can lead to prosecution in the Magistrates Court, with a fine of up to 50 penalty units and up to 5 more for each day the offence goes on; tenants can complain to the RTA. As at October 2026, the RTA gives the penalty unit for an individual as $172.70, with a higher amount for corporations. If a person or agency convicted of ignoring such an order caused clear damage or suffering, the Magistrates Court may also order them to pay the listed person compensation.
At $172.70 a unit, 50 penalty units come to $8,635 for an individual, and 5 units for each further day to $863.50. These are maximums a court may impose, not set fines.
The RTA offers a free interpreter service on 1300 366 311, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.
Western Australia
Consumer Protection WA’s page asks landlords to try to settle a disagreement with the tenant by negotiation first. Failing that, the tenant can complain to Consumer Protection or apply to the Magistrates Court to remove a listing that is incorrect, out of date, ambiguous or unjust.
Breaches of the Act can lead to an infringement notice from the Department or to prosecution in court; only a court can impose the penalties the Act sets. The page, last updated in November 2024, gives the highest infringement notice as up to $4,000, and its schedule lists nine database offences, from not telling an applicant that a database is used to keeping information longer than allowed, each with a modified penalty of $1,000.
South Australia
The Tribunal, which the Act defines as the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, acts on an application from the Commissioner or from a person whose information is in a database. If an operator commits an offence against Part 5A, the Commissioner can also ask the Tribunal to set conditions on how that operator runs its database. An order lasts for the time it states or until the Tribunal orders otherwise, and if an order to amend or remove a listing is made against someone who was not a party, the Tribunal must make sure they get a copy.
In the version of the Act dated 15 January 2026, the duties in Part 5A, from the notices to applicants to the three-year limit, each carry a maximum penalty of $35,000 and an expiation fee of $2,000. The offences reach acts done outside South Australia too, where they concern a person living in the state or a tenancy there.
The ACT
Anyone who believes information about them has been, or will be, listed other than as the law allows can apply to ACAT for an order prohibiting, removing or amending the listing, and for compensation. The Renting Book adds that privacy laws also govern how the information is collected and used.
What a correct listing must look like is in the guide to who can be listed, and the duty to correct one is in the guide to copies, corrections and removal.