A new way of handling bonds commences on 28 March 2026.
The Commissioner for Consumer Protection will be able to make decisions about the release of a residential tenancy bond when tenants and landlords do not agree.
The Commissioner’s Guidelines – Deciding a Security Bond Release application, available on March 28, provide information about the Commissioner determinations process and how bond releases are decided.
Referral to Commissioner determinations
Your bond release application will be automatically referred to the Commissioner for a decision if anyone on the bond:
- disputes the release application
- does not respond to the release application.
A notification from Bonds Administration will be sent to everyone. This lets them know the release application has been referred to the Commissioner determinations process.
Invitation to make a submission about the release application
An ‘Invitation to Make a Submission about a Bond Release Application’ will be sent to everyone asking:
- how much of the bond each tenant and landlord should be paid
- for evidence or information explaining why the bond should be paid that way.
The notice will include:
- a summary of the bond release application
- the timeframe to respond (10 days)
- information on how to provide a response.
Information you can provide
You can reply with any information or evidence to help us make a decision, such as:
- evidence for any claims from the bond
- copies of your lease agreement, property condition reports, photos, invoices for work completed
- any other information to help us understand your view about how the bond release should be paid.
Examples of the type of information to be provided for each type of claim are covered in the Commissioner’s Guidelines.
You can request additional time to provide information or evidence if you need it.
Making the decision
To make a decision about the bond release application, we must:
- decide if landlord is entitled to be paid any amount from the bond
- work out the balance to be paid to the tenant
- decide how the balance should be divided between tenants if there are two or more.
More information about what a landlord is allowed to claim and evidence needed to prove they are entitled to the payment is covered in the Commissioner’s Guidelines.
When making the decision, we will:
- consider all submissions and evidence
- review all claims made against the bond and make sure they are supported by evidence
- ask for more information if it is needed to make the decision
Decision
A notice of the Commissioner’s decision will be sent to everyone stating:
- how much is to be paid to the landlord and each tenant
- the reason for the decision.
The bond will be held for 7 days after the Commissioner’s decision is made. This gives enough time to anyone wanting to appeal the decision.
Appealing the decision
You have 7 days to lodge an appeal to the Magistrates Court if you are unhappy with the Commissioner’s decision.
After lodging your appeal, immediately contact Bonds Administration by email. You must provide proof of the submitted appeal, such as a screenshot or receipt from the eCourts portal.
You will need to do this within 7 days of receiving the decision to stop the bond being paid out.
Information about how to appeal is available from Appealing a Commissioner’s decision.
When we can’t make a decision
We will let you know if we can’t make a decision about how the bond is released. This includes where:
- the amount in dispute is more than the bond
- there is already a dispute for the tenancy before the Magistrates Court
- there is not enough information to make a decision
- the bond is no longer held with Bonds Administration
- the bond dispute involves a tenant or landlord living in another Australian state. See interstate persons involved in bond disputes below.
You will receive a ‘Notice that the Commissioner declines to decide the application’. This explains the reason the Commissioner cannot make a decision on the bond release. It will also have instructions for applying to the Magistrates Court for a decision about the bond dispute.
Published Commissioner decisions
A list of decisions made for bonds, minor modifications and page is available from the Commissioner’s decisions page.
Interstate persons involved in bond disputes
The Commissioner cannot make a decision about a bond release application if both of the following apply:
- everyone on the bond is a natural person (an individual, not an organisation such as a company or incorporated association)
- at least one person on the bond was living in another Australian state (NSW, QLD, SA, TAS or VIC) at the time the application was referred.
The Magistrates Court has jurisdiction to decide how the bond should be released in these circumstances.
The Commissioner can still decide non‑bond matters, such as pet and minor modification applications, even if someone involved lives interstate.