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Western Australian Reviews

Residential Tenancy Databases (RTD) consultation

Residential Tenancy Databases (RTDs) are electronic databases operated by private companies. Information about tenants and their rental history is collected, stored and made available for a fee to real estate agents and in some cases property owners.

The purpose of RTDs is to enable real estate agents and property owners to “assess risk” in deciding whether to accept an application to lease residential premises. Database listings are based on information provided by real estate agents or property owners to RTD operators. 

Unfortunately, RTD’s can be open to abuse. Some submissions to the review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 in Western Australia noted that spiteful listings, inaccurate listings or out of date or old listings can occur. There can also be a lack of transparency in the use of RTDs and costs associated with challenging a listing.

The fair operation of RTDs is important because an adverse report can seriously limit a tenant’s access to housing. To that end the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA) and the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) agreed to the formation of a joint national working party on RTDs, with a specific mandate to:

  • investigate and report on the role of RTDs and the extent of use of RTDs in Australia;
  • examine the existing framework for regulating the use of RTDs; and
  • develop, where necessary, options for a nationally consistent framework.

Following consultation with national stakeholders, MCCA has produced a proposal for nationally consistent model provisions, which will form the basis of nationally consistent legislation. The Council now wishes to seek your comments on the proposal to implement nationally consistent legislation to regulate these databases.

Please note:  the proposal does not represent the Western Australian Government’s policy position. The Minister for Commerce, the Hon Troy Buswell BEc MLA, is currently seeking input from key stakeholder groups and other Western Australians to determine whether the proposal should proceed.

Associated documents