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.
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s family violence page says that anyone in immediate danger can contact Victoria Police on 000. Its own line for renting questions, including family violence, is 1300 55 81 81, open weekdays from 9 am until 5 pm.
The three states take different routes. Victoria forbids the listing outright in set situations, Queensland lets QCAT order that a person must not be listed, and Western Australia treats such a listing as unjust, which opens the way to having it removed.
Three states, three routes
| Place | The words used | The rule | Who can act |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | Family or personal violence | A renter cannot be listed for a breach that resulted from family or personal violence in which they were the victim. | VCAT can order a listing removed. |
| QLD | Domestic and family violence | Where the breach was caused by the person using violence, the tenant who experienced it should not be listed; the person using violence can be. | QCAT can order that the tenant must not be listed. |
| WA | Family violence | A listing whose reason arises from the tenant being subjected to family violence is unjust. | The Magistrates Court can order removal; a complaint can go to Consumer Protection. |
South Australia’s database rules, in Part 5A of its Act, add one condition that turns on a Tribunal order: no listing may be made where the Tribunal has prohibited it by an order under section 89A(4)(d).
Victoria: when a renter must not be listed
Consumer Affairs Victoria explains why this matters: people are listed for breaching a rental agreement, for example by not paying rent or by deliberately damaging the property, and a listing can make the next rental hard to find. It then sets out four situations in which a renter’s personal information must not go on a database:
- the renter breached the agreement because of family or personal violence against them;
- the renter has applied to end the agreement because of family violence;
- a notice to vacate given to the renter was found invalid because of family violence; or
- the renter has made an objection, backed by evidence, to the rental provider, the agent or the database, saying the information relates to family violence they experienced.
Victoria: what an objection includes
An objection is a written statement to the rental provider, the agent or the database operator, saying that the information relates to family or personal violence the renter experienced. It goes with one of two kinds of evidence:
- a certified copy of an extract of a relevant order: a family violence intervention order, a family violence safety notice, a recognised non-local DVO or a personal safety intervention order; or
- a letter, report, written statement or other document about the violence from one of the people below.
Consumer Affairs Victoria lists who can make a statement on the renter’s behalf: support workers, health professionals, religious groups, crisis accommodation providers, the state department responsible for families, housing and child protection, Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and other state or territory police, staff of schools and universities, family and friends, an employer, and a lawyer.
If a listing has already been made
A renter who finds they have been listed can ask the rental provider to remove it. If that does not work, they can apply to VCAT to have it removed.
Queensland: an order from QCAT
In Queensland, the protection works through QCAT. Where a breach came from what the person using violence did, QCAT can order that the tenant who experienced domestic and family violence is not to be listed. That person can still be listed.
A dispute about a proposed or existing listing goes to QCAT, which the Residential Tenancies Authority describes as hearing both kinds. The time limit for starting one, and the other routes, are in the guide to disputes and penalties.
Western Australia: an unjust listing
Consumer Protection WA says it is unjust to list a person where the reason for the listing comes from family violence they were subjected to. A person can ask to have their name taken off a database if they think a listing is unjust.
Where the disagreement is not settled, the tenant can complain to Consumer Protection or apply to the Magistrates Court to have an unjust listing removed. The Court can order information removed in whole or in part, changed, or, for a listing not yet made, not listed at all.
The general tests every listing must pass are in the guide to who can be listed, and the notice and objection steps before any listing are in the guide to the three notices.