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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2009

All interested individuals and organisations are encouraged to provide comment on the consultation draft of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2009 (PDF 219kB).

The draft provisions would replace the current tenancy database provisions in the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (PDF 1.6MB).

The draft is provided for consultation purposes only and is yet to receive formal Queensland Government endorsement.

Background

In 2006, the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA) agreed to the development of model uniform legislation regulating the use of residential tenancy databases, based on the final report of the joint Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG)/MCCA Working Party, Report on Residential Tenancy Databases (PDF 759kB) and the associated Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) (PDF 1MB).

The Residential Tenancy Databases Model Provisions have been drafted for the national consultation process and the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2009 has been drafted in accordance with these model provisions. Other states and territories are also consulting on the draft model provisions.

If the draft model provisions are adopted by all State and Territory governments, it is planned that the provisions would be introduced in each jurisdiction to provide a consistent national approach to the regulation of residential tenancy databases.

Detailed information about the Residential Tenancy Databases Project can be found in the Residential Tenancy Databases - Model Provisions Consultation Package (PDF 357kB). The draft model provisions can be found as an attachment to this document.

Submissions on the Bill

Those providing comments on the Bill are asked to respond to the following discussion questions:

  1. Do the provisions provide an effective framework for regulating the conduct of lessors, agents and database operators in relation to residential tenancy databases? If not, please explain your view and if possible, provide suggestions for how the provisions might be amended to address your concerns.
  2. If these provisions were adopted, as drafted, would the provisions be workable in Queensland? If not, please explain why, providing practical examples and whenever possible, attach relevant data or documentation to support your view.
  3. Are the provisions clear and unambiguous? If not, please explain your view with reference to specific provisions.
  4. Do you have any other comments regarding the draft amendment Bill? If so, please explain.

Information to include in the submission

In addition to providing answers to these questions in your submission, we also ask that you specify your current role, such as tenant, agent, lessor, database operator, or advocate etc. This will assist those reviewing submissions to understand the context of each submission.

If your submission contains information that you do not wish to be disclosed to others, please mark it "Confidential". Respondents should be aware of the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009 which binds the RTA. Under this Act the RTA is required to grant access to documents in its possession or under it's control unless an exemption provision applies, or on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to do so.

Timeframe for submissions

Comments in writing should be forwarded by Friday, 11 December 2009 to:

National Regulation of Residential Tenancy Databases
Residential Tenancies Authority
GPO Box 390
Brisbane Qld 4001

Or by email to: review@rta.qld.gov.au

Enquiries about the Bill

If you wish to make enquiries about the draft amendment Bill please contact:

Russell Morgan
Residential Tenancies Authority
Phone: (07) 3361 3650 or russell.morgan@rta.qld.gov.au

Last Updated: 03 November 2009