To mark Multicultural Queensland Month, the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) shares how we make tenancy support accessible to customers from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Queensland is home to people of many cultures. At the time of the 2021 Census, more than 1 in 5 Queenslanders were born overseas and more than 1 in 10 spoke a language other than English at home.  

Multicultural Queensland Month (MQM) is an annual initiative held in August to recognise and promote this cultural diversity. The theme for 2025 is ‘One Queensland, many stories.’ As we celebrate our community’s diversity, the RTA is committed to ensuring resources and services are accessible, helping all Queenslanders make informed choices about their tenancy matters.

When customers call the RTA, they can request a free interpreter by selecting the interpreter option from the phone menu. Customers then select their language and an interpreter from our service provider will be brought into the call to translate between the customer and our staff. On regular calls, our Contact Centre staff proactively offer interpreter services to customers if they are struggling to discuss their query in English. In the 2024–25 financial year, more than 3,000 RTA callers used interpreter services, requesting more than 50 different languages. The three most frequently requested languages were Mandarin, Spanish and Korean.

The RTA website has resources to support multicultural Queenslanders, including information about how to contact us in 27 different languages. The RTA’s Pocket guide for tenants – houses and units (Form 17a) answers commonly asked questions about tenancies including repairs, rent payments, lease agreements and rental bonds. It is available in 8 languages other than English:  

• Arabic
• Japanese
• Korean
• Punjabi
• simplified Chinese
• traditional Chinese
• Spanish
• Vietnamese.  

This handy pocket guide must be provided to a tenant before they lease a property. The translations are available at Pocket guide for tenants - other languages.

RTA Board Director Christine Castley is Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council and former CEO of Multicultural Australia. She emphasised the importance of breaking down language barriers to promote diversity and inclusion.  

‘For culturally and linguistically diverse Queenslanders, the RTA’s resources in other languages and free interpreter service are a great way to improve access to information about tenancies. Language should never be a barrier for an essential service, such as those related to housing,’ Ms Castley said.

‘Interpreter services are even available for the RTA’s free dispute resolution service, helping property managers/owners and tenants/residents to better understand each other’s concerns as part of the conciliation process. Multicultural Queensland Month is a good opportunity to reflect on these services and their positive impact in achieving the RTA’s vision of renting that works for everyone.’  

The RTA’s multicultural services aren’t just about international languages and cultures – we’re also committed to providing appropriate support for our First Nations customers. The RTA regularly attends NAIDOC Week events and engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies and support groups.

In July 2025, the RTA launched Songlines, a dedicated phone service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers. Calls are answered by staff trained to provide a culturally appropriate, sensitive and respectful service when answering questions about renting in Queensland. Interpreter services are also available for 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Further information about the service and the languages available can be found at Songlines: our dedicated phone line.  

To help the RTA continue to meet the needs of our customers, the RTA’s stakeholder working groups include a range of individuals and organisations that bring diverse perspectives from Queensland’s rental sector, such as the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ). The working groups enable collaboration between the RTA and our stakeholders, provide a greater focus on outcomes, and help us to deliver improved customer services as part of our stakeholder engagement approach. We are also engaging directly with organisations such as Settlement Services International to better understand the tenancy experiences of newly settled refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

The RTA promotes diversity and inclusion in our workforce through cultural awareness training, targets for staff diversity and recognising dates that have multicultural significance. The RTA’s Equity and diversity action plan sets out our approach. The action plan aims to ensure all RTA employees have access to equal pay and opportunities – regardless of gender, disability or culturally and linguistically diverse background – and that the RTA continues to provide a workspace that is inclusive, representative, and psychologically safe.

As part of the Queensland multicultural action plan, the RTA is committed to embedding culturally responsive approaches to our services, policies, recruitment and workplace.  

If you have any questions about accessing the RTA’s services or resources, please contact us.