Leaving an unsafe home situation will soon be easier for domestic violence victim-survivors as the New South Wales government today introduces new rental reforms to parliament.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Bill 2025 will make the process easier for victim survivors of domestic violence to leave a tenancy and strengthen privacy and security protections.
“These reforms are about making common-sense changes so women and families can get out of unsafe situations quickly, without unnecessary red tape,” said the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns.
“We’ve listened to victim-survivors and frontline services. The message was clear: the law needed to work better in real-life situations. That’s exactly what these changes deliver.”
The Minns government says the rental reforms follow extensive consultation with more than 400 individuals and 40 organisations, including frontline services.
The changes are meant to deliver on recommendations from the statutory review of the domestic violence provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. They also build on Labor’s work to expand the Rentstart Bond Loan scheme, which allows survivors of domestic violence to access a loan of up to 100 per cent of their rental bond to secure accommodation.
What will the reforms do?
The reforms will remove the need for victim-survivors to notify an alleged perpetrator that they have left their shared lease due to domestic abuse.
They’ll also expand the list of approved people who can declare a renter is experiencing domestic violence so they can break a lease without penalty. This expanded list will better support vulnerable groups such as people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people from non-English speaking backgrounds to better access protections under the Act.
Along with making it easier for victim-survivors to leave a tenancy, these reforms contain a privacy and security element.
The changes allow for locks to be changed without landlord approval if there is a court order or bail or parole conditions that exclude the alleged perpetrator from the property.
Landlords will need permission from renters as well if they wish to publish advertisement images or videos of the exterior of the property that might show a renter’s belongings. This is meant to reduce the risk of victim-survivors being tracked down by perpetrators.
The rental reforms will also improve a ban on listing victims on residential tenancy databases. The means Fair Trading will be allowed to order a listing be removed if the victim-survivor can provide evidence of domestic abuse.
Victim-survivors will not be liable for property damage caused by a perpetrator either. The new reforms allow NCAT to decide whether the damage was likely to have been caused during an incident of domestic abuse.
NCAT would also have the power to break up the renters’ bond and order partial repayments to a co-tenant. This would support victim-survivors to recover their share of the rental bond.
Safety and dignity for renters
The Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said that at safety, dignity and fairness are at the heart of these reforms “to ensure rental laws work for those who need them most”.
“Access to safe and affordable housing is a critical issue for victim-survivors of domestic violence. Many victim-survivors are unable to leave abusive relationships because they have nowhere else to live,” said Chanthivong.
“For those victim-survivors who manage to leave, the negative consequences of the abusive relationship often reverberate through their lives and increase financial hardship for many years.”
Minister for Women and Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said the reforms are critical as “no one should have to choose between their safety and their home”.
“These reforms are about the NSW Government strengthening protections for victim survivors of domestic and family violence including reducing liability for property damage and supporting them to recover their share of the rental bond.”
“We’re continuing to work hard to address domestic and family violence in our state and these changes ensure victim-survivors have clear, practical pathways to safety.”