Whether an agent can keep a rental holding deposit depends entirely on your state: New South Wales caps it at one week’s rent, Victoria and Queensland set refund deadlines, Western Australia and South Australia use different payments altogether, and the Australian Capital Territory bans holding deposits outright. If the agent will not refund money the rules say is yours, write to the agency’s principal first, then complain to the body that regulates agents where the property is.
Claim Done’s Real Estate Agent Complaint pack writes both for A$49: a formal complaint to the agency that applies your state’s official deposit rule to your dates and amount, and a complaint statement addressed to your state’s body, ready for you to lodge if the agency does not fix it.
Agents’ conduct is in the news again. On 25 September 2026 the New South Wales Government announced that Parliament had passed rental reforms that will require landlords and agents to disclose when rental ad photos have been digitally altered or generated by AI to hide faults, with penalties of up to $22,000, plus a standard application form that limits what personal information can be asked for. The laws are expected to start in early 2027. Until then, a misleading listing or a kept deposit is a complaint, and the route runs through the same bodies below.
Holding deposit rules and complaint bodies, state by state
Only rules stated on an official government page or in the Act itself are listed here.
| State or territory | The rule on money paid before signing | Complaints about agents |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Holding fee of no more than one week’s rent, only after your application is approved | NSW Fair Trading |
| Victoria | Refunded once both sign; if nothing is signed within 14 days, refunded by the next business day | Consumer Affairs Victoria |
| Queensland | Refunded within three days if you pull out within the holding period and say so | Office of Fair Trading |
| Western Australia | Option fee (capped), returned within seven days if the application is refused | Consumer Protection |
| South Australia | Consideration payment; must go towards rent if you sign | Consumer and Business Services |
| Tasmania | A holding agreement may impose a fee; s 31 sets no amount or refund rule | Property Agents Board |
| Australian Capital Territory | Holding deposits are not allowed | Access Canberra |
| Northern Territory | Payment for an option to enter a tenancy is prohibited | Agents Licensing Board |
What each state’s rule actually says
New South Wales. The New South Wales Government’s page on costs at the start of a tenancy says a holding fee can be no more than one week’s rent and can only be requested once the landlord has approved your application. The landlord or agent cannot sign a lease with anyone else within 7 days of your payment, and the fee must go towards rent if you sign. The landlord may keep it if you do not sign, unless they failed to tell you certain material facts or made a misrepresentation about the property. If the landlord changed their mind, you did not refuse to sign.
Victoria. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a rental provider or agent may ask for a holding deposit before the agreement is signed. It must be refunded once both parties sign. If no agreement is signed within 14 days, it must be refunded by the next business day.
Queensland. The Residential Tenancies Authority’s fact sheet on holding deposits says the holding period should be written on your receipt, and if it is not, the Act makes it 48 hours. Only one holding deposit can be taken for a property at a time, and you must get a signed receipt. Tell the agent within the holding period that you are not going ahead and the whole deposit must be refunded within three days. Stay silent past the period, or say yes and then fail to sign, and you forfeit it. If you sign, it becomes part of your bond.
Western Australia. Western Australia uses an option fee, not a holding deposit. Consumer Protection says it is capped, with the cap depending on the rent and the property’s location. If the application is refused, the money must be returned within seven days. If it succeeds, the fee comes off your first rent payment or is paid back.
South Australia. Consumer and Business Services calls it a consideration payment. If you sign the lease, the landlord must put the money towards rent. If you do not sign, the landlord could keep all or some of it.
Tasmania. Section 31 of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 lets the owner of unoccupied premises and a prospective tenant agree to hold the premises for a specified period of more than 7 days, and that holding agreement may impose a fee. Section 31 says nothing about the amount or a refund, so what you signed decides it. Read it before you pay.
Australian Capital Territory. The Australian Capital Territory Government’s before-renting page (updated 8 September 2026) lists a holding deposit among the charges landlords cannot ask tenants to pay, alongside inspection fees and a fee for the keys.
Northern Territory. Section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 says a landlord must not require or accept any payment from a tenant or prospective tenant other than rent, a security deposit or a payment the Act expressly permits, and it names an amount paid for an option to enter into an agreement as prohibited. The maximum penalty is 20 penalty units.
Put the same $600 deposit through four states and the answers split. Pulled out within the holding period in Queensland and told the agent? Back within three days. Nothing signed within 14 days in Victoria? Back by the next business day. Paid it in the Australian Capital Territory? It should never have been taken. In New South Wales, $600 is only lawful if the weekly rent is at least $600.
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Who handles the complaint, and what they can and cannot do
Almost every body below expects you to have tried the agency first. That is why the first document should be a written complaint to the agency’s principal, the licensee in charge.
- New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading runs a free, voluntary complaint service for tenancy and agent disputes. It aims to finalise most complaints within 30 days. Its own residential tenancy complaints page is blunt: Fair Trading cannot order or direct either party to resolve the complaint; only a court or a tribunal can do that. It can take disciplinary action against a breach of laws it administers.
- Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria says that if you have not tried to resolve the problem with the agent or agency, “we will not be able to take your complaint further”.
- Queensland: the Queensland Government’s advice is to put the complaint in writing to the agent, then approach the Real Estate Institute of Queensland if the agent is a member, then make a formal complaint to the Office of Fair Trading. Separately, the Office of Fair Trading takes claims for financial loss caused by agents, including trust money not handled properly, false or misleading claims, and money or a deposit not returned when it should have been. It does not cover poor service or negligence, and time limits apply.
- Western Australia: Consumer Protection’s complaints page starts with “Talk to the trader”.
- South Australia: Consumer and Business Services generally offers conciliation only when you have made reasonable attempts to resolve it with the business. It publishes a sample complaint letter to a real estate agency and takes calls on 131 882.
- Tasmania: the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 gives the Property Agents Board, through Consumer, Building and Occupational Services, its complaint, investigation and enforcement processes for agents and property managers.
- Australian Capital Territory: Access Canberra says you must contact the business before contacting it.
- Northern Territory: the Agents Licensing Board runs a disciplinary process based on grounds in s 44(1) or 67(1) of the Agents Licensing Act 1979. The Northern Territory Government’s page gives examples such as charging fees an agent is not entitled to charge. It also says the process “is not a dispute resolution mechanism and it cannot award compensation”.
So a complaint to a regulator puts pressure on an agent’s licence; it does not, by itself, get your money back in most states. The letter to the agency is what asks for the refund, with a date to pay by. If it still does not arrive, our step-by-step guide on getting a kept holding deposit back covers the demand stage, and if the problem is fees rather than a deposit, see agents charging fees tenants should not pay.
What Claim Done’s Real Estate Agent Complaint pack gives you
The Real Estate Agent Complaint and Holding Deposit Refund costs a flat A$49. You tell us the state, the agency, the property, what happened and what you want, and two documents are usually ready in about 5 minutes:
- A formal complaint to the agency, addressed to the principal: what happened in date order, your concerns, the official deposit rule for your state applied to your dates and amount, and a request for a written response within 14 days.
- A complaint statement addressed to the right body for your state or territory, complete on its own and titled correctly, ready for you to lodge if the agency does not fix it.
It covers renters, rental applicants, landlords, buyers and sellers: holding deposits, misleading information, fees you did not agree to, money held in trust and conduct. It sticks to facts rather than accusations. You review both documents, download them, send the letter and lodge the statement yourself. Claim Done does not lodge anything, and Claim Done is not a law firm.
Start at claimdone.com.au/begin, choose Real Estate Agent Complaint, and tell us the state the property is in. Your complaint and statement are ready to review and download straight after. See how it works or all prices.
Facts checked on 29 September 2026 against the New South Wales Government’s pages on costs at the start of a tenancy, residential tenancy complaints and the 25 September 2026 rental reforms release, Consumer Affairs Victoria’s applying-for-a-property (updated 7 April 2026) and estate agent complaint pages, the Residential Tenancies Authority’s holding deposit fact sheet and the Queensland Government’s agent and financial loss pages, Consumer Protection Western Australia (updated 17 June 2026), sa.gov.au (updated 15 January 2026), the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 (Tasmania) s 31, the Australian Capital Territory Government and Access Canberra, and the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 (Northern Territory) s 24 and the Northern Territory Government’s complaint page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a rental holding deposit refundable?
It depends on the state. In Victoria it must be refunded once both parties sign, or by the next business day if nothing is signed within 14 days. In Queensland it must be refunded within three days if you tell the agent within the holding period that you are not going ahead. In New South Wales the landlord may keep a holding fee only if you do not sign, unless you were misled.
How much can a holding deposit be in New South Wales?
No more than one week's rent, and it can only be asked for after the landlord has approved your application. The landlord or agent cannot sign a lease with anyone else within 7 days of your payment, and the fee goes towards rent if you sign.
Are holding deposits allowed in the Australian Capital Territory?
No. The Australian Capital Territory Government lists a holding deposit among the charges landlords cannot ask tenants to pay.
Who do I complain to about a real estate agent?
The body for the state or territory where the property is: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland, Consumer Protection in Western Australia, Consumer and Business Services in South Australia, the Property Agents Board in Tasmania, Access Canberra, or the Agents Licensing Board in the Northern Territory. Most expect you to raise it with the agency first.
Can the regulator order the agent to refund me?
Usually not directly. NSW Fair Trading says it cannot order or direct either party and only a court or tribunal can, and the Northern Territory board says its process cannot award compensation. Queensland's Office of Fair Trading does take claims for financial loss caused by agents. The letter to the agency is what asks for the refund.
For the full process, see how to complain about a real estate agent.
What happens when you put it in writing — properly
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.