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.
The grounds come down to two in most of these places: the tenant breached the agreement (in Victoria, the agreement or certain sections of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997) and, because of that breach, either left owing more than the bond or a tribunal or court ended the agreement (in Victoria, VCAT issued a possession order). Queensland adds grounds of its own and sets extra conditions on the money one.
The tests, place by place
Every test in a row has to be met before anyone is listed.
| Place | Who | When | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | A renter named on the rental agreement. | The agreement has ended. | The renter breached the agreement or certain sections of the Act, and because of that owes more than the bond paid, or VCAT has issued a possession order. |
| QLD | Only tenants named on the tenancy agreement. | Only after the agreement has ended. | Money owing above the bond, on the conditions below; or objectionable behaviour or repeated breaches, where QCAT ended the agreement for that reason. |
| WA | A person named on the agreement as a tenant. | The agreement has ended. | A breach, and because of it either a court order ending the agreement or, once the tenancy is over, money owed to the lessor above the security bond. |
| SA | A person named as a tenant in the agreement. | The agreement has ended. | The person breached the agreement and, because of the breach, owes the landlord more than the bond or the Tribunal has made an order ending the agreement. |
| ACT | A tenant. | After the agreement ends, never during it. | A serious breach, which the Renting Book says means only money owed above the bond at the end of the lease, or an order by ACAT or a court ending the agreement because of the breach. |
Queensland says plainly that no other reason will do. Victoria’s regulator lists the reasons a renter can be listed for and says they are limited to these: serious damage to the property; putting at risk the safety of neighbours, the rental provider, the agent or the people who work for them; unpaid rent; failing to obey a VCAT order; illegal use of the property; sub-letting without permission; and breaching the agreement’s terms.
The ACT’s Renting Book adds a reassurance for tenants who fear being listed for standing up for their rights during a tenancy: that is not allowed.
Queensland’s rule on money owing
In Queensland, money owing is a ground only when the agreement has ended, the amount is more than the rental bond, and one more thing is true. The Residential Tenancies Authority gives three possibilities:
- money owed under a conciliation agreement or a QCAT order was not paid on time;
- the tenant was served a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11) for rent arrears and did not remedy it; or
- the tenant abandoned the property, unless the dispute is already before QCAT for a decision; the RTA’s before-renting page adds “(and there is no current objection by the tenant)”.
Where no bond was paid at all, the amount owing has to be more than one week’s rent before a listing can be made.
Say a Queensland tenancy with no bond had a weekly rent of $500. A debt of $500 or less could not be listed, because it is not more than one week’s rent; a debt of $501 could be, if one of the three conditions above also applied.
What a listing may say
A listing is about the breach and nothing else. South Australia’s Act requires the information to relate only to the breach and to be “accurate, complete and unambiguous”, and it must show the nature of the breach. The Act gives two examples of how: including the words “rent arrears” for a tenant who failed to pay rent, or “damage to premises” for one who damaged the property.
Western Australia sets the same standard of accuracy, completeness and clarity, and adds that the entry must show the nature of the breach and relate only to it. In the ACT, the information must be accurate, up to date and confined to the breach.
People who cannot be listed
Queensland and Western Australia both limit listings to the named tenants: no occupant, approved or unapproved, no visitor and no child can be listed. Queensland gives the reason: only the named tenants are accountable for the property and carry the obligations under the agreement.
Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia each limit listings that arise from family or domestic violence against the tenant, as the guide to family violence and listings sets out. In South Australia, no listing may be made if the Tribunal has made an order under section 89A(4)(d) of the Act prohibiting it.
Western Australia also bars listing a tenant for rent arrears that built up during its COVID-19 emergency period, 30 March 2020 to 28 March 2021, because of financial hardship caused by the pandemic. Its database laws apply to every listing, including listings made before they began.
After the tests are met
Meeting the tests is not the end of it: in most of these places the tenant must first be told about the proposed listing and given time to object, as the guide to the three notices explains. Once made, a listing can be corrected, and every listing comes off after three years; the guide to copies, corrections and removal covers both.