• Self resolution
  • Knowing your rights and responsibilities
  • Keeping records
  • Communicating
  • Support and assistance
  • Self Resolution Checklist
• The Dispute Resolution Service
  • Matters not suitable for conciliation
  • Applying for dispute resolution
  • Preparing documents for conciliation
  • The role of the conciliator
  • Preparing for conciliation
• Handling tenancy disputes in the Small Claims Tribunal
  • Introduction
  • Options for resolving disputes
  • Role of the Small Claims Tribunal
  • Applying to a Small Claims Tribunal
  • The hearing
  • After the hearing

The role of the conciliator

The RTA's Dispute Resolution Service is staffed by trained conciliators. The conciliator's role is to assist parties involved in a dispute to reach an agreement on issues that they have been unable to resolve themselves. 

The conciliator can:

• contact and interview disputing parties over the telephone
• provide information about the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008
• assist the parties in the exchange of information including relevant documents such as receipts
• facilitate the resolution of disputes by sharing offers and suggesting options
• provide a notice of unresolved dispute to enable an application to the tribunal for a hearing where a dispute remains unresolved.

Conciliators do not:

• make decisions for disputing parties
• make judgements about who is right, who is wrong or what the outcome of the dispute should be
• tell people what to do
• make rulings
• force parties to participate in the conciliation process.

As part of the process, conciliators may note relevant issues in the RTA database.  These notes will not be referred to if the dispute progresses to the tribunal. More information about privacy of information is available. 

Generally speaking, the Dispute Resolution Service does not conciliate issues between:

Neigbours
Department of Justice website

Management agreements between lessors and agents
Office of Fair Trading website
Real Estate of Queensland (REIQ) website 

Co-tenants
Department of Justice website