Australia has eight different sets of tenancy laws. What’s legally sufficient in NSW can be invalid in QLD. This is the essential guide to what landlords must do — in every state and territory — for entry, routine, and exit inspections.
Quick Reference — All States at a Glance
| State | Tenant review period (entry) | Routine notice | Max frequency | Permitted hours | Prescribed form? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 7 days | 7 days written | 4 per year | 8am–8pm; not Sun/PH | Yes MANDATORY |
| VIC | 5 business days (renter returns signed copy) | 7 days written | Once per 6 months; no inspection in first 3 months of tenancy | 8am–6pm; not PH | Yes — Form 4 MANDATORY |
| QLD | 7 days (tenant); landlord countersigns & returns within 14 days | 7 days; Form 9 ONLY | Once per 3 months | Not before 8am or after 6pm; not Sun/PH | Yes — Entry & Exit Form 14a MANDATORY |
| SA | 14 days | 7–28 days; 2hr window required | 4 per year | 8am–8pm Mon–Sat; not Sun/PH | Yes MANDATORY |
| WA | 7 days after receiving | 7–14 days (min AND max) | 4 per year | 8am–6pm or agreed | Yes — Form 1 MANDATORY |
| TAS | 2 days (s.26) | 24 hours written | Once per 3 months | Reasonable hours | No NONE CURRENTLY |
| ACT | 14 days (2 weeks) | 7 days written | 2 per year (extra in first & last month) | 8am–6pm Mon–Sat; not Sun/PH | Yes MANDATORY |
| NT | 5 business days | 7 days written | Once per 3 months | 7am–9pm | No NONE CURRENTLY |
New South Wales
- Entry report: Provide the prescribed NSW Fair Trading condition report at or before commencement. Tenant has 7 days to review, annotate, and return. If you fail to provide one, the tenant can complete their own within 7 days of moving in.
- Routine notice: Minimum 7 calendar days written notice. No prescribed notice form required in NSW — any written format stating reason, date, and time is valid.
- Frequency cap: 4 per year; no more than once per month.
- Permitted hours: 8am–8pm. Not on Sundays or public holidays without tenant’s written agreement.
- Smoke alarm notice: At least 2 business days — a separate requirement from the 7-day routine notice.
- Exit inspection: Falls under the standard 7-day inspection notice if conducted while the tenant is still in occupation; or completed after they vacate. Note: the provision sometimes cited as “14 days before first exit inspection, then twice per week with 48 hours notice” applies to showing the property to prospective buyers or tenants — not to the exit condition inspection itself.
- Forms & disputes: NSW condition report · NCAT
Victoria
- Entry report: Provide Form 4 (mandatory prescribed form) before the renter moves in — up to 25 penalty units for failing to do so. The renter then has 5 business days from taking occupation to complete their part and return a signed copy to you. This deadline applies regardless of whether you provided the report on time — it is the renter's standard return window under s.35(2), not a fallback that only applies if you missed your own obligation.
- Minimum standards: From November 2025, the property must meet all minimum standards categories before advertising for rent and throughout the tenancy.
- Routine notice: Minimum 7 days written notice stating a specific date and time.
- Frequency cap — critical: Once every 6 months, and no routine inspection at all in the first 3 months of a new tenancy [s.86(3)]. VIC is the most restrictive in Australia on both counts. A tenant can lawfully refuse entry for either breach.
- Permitted hours: 8am–6pm. Not on public holidays without tenant’s agreement.
- Safety checks (mandatory): Annual smoke alarm checks from 25 Nov 2025; gas and electrical checks every 2 years from 13 Oct 2026. Written record to tenant within 7 days of each check. Entry notice: 24 hours.
- Forms & disputes: Form 4 · VCAT · RDRV
🔴 Critical
Many landlords conduct quarterly inspections in VIC without realising this is unlawful. The cap is once every 6 months, and nothing at all in the first 3 months. Both are reportable to Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Queensland
- Entry report — two-step process: Provide the RTA Entry Condition Report at or before move-in. Tenant has 7 days (from the later of the day they occupied the property or the day they received the report) to review, annotate, sign, and return their copy. You then have a further 14 days from receiving the tenant's annotated copy to countersign it and return a final copy to the tenant — a separate step from, and not to be confused with, the 3-business-day window for the exit report below.
- Routine notice — Form 9 is mandatory: Notice MUST be served on the prescribed Form 9 (Entry Notice). Any other format — email, letter, text — is legally invalid regardless of the notice period given. Minimum 7 days. Must state a specific time or 2-hour window.
- Frequency cap: Once every 3 months.
- Permitted hours: Not before 8am or after 6pm. Not on Sundays or public holidays without tenant’s written agreement.
- Repairs notice (from 1 May 2025): At least 48 hours for non-urgent repairs.
- Smoke alarm notice: At least 48 hours for smoke alarm work — separately prescribed. During the tenancy, tenants are responsible for testing and cleaning smoke alarms at least once every 12 months.
- Pool safety: Register on the Queensland Pool Safety Register and hold a valid pool safety certificate (Form 23) before signing any lease.
- Exit inspection: Complete the RTA Exit Condition Report (Form 14a) — a separate form from the entry report. Send a completed copy to the tenant at their new address within 3 business days of the vacate inspection.
- Forms & disputes: Form 9 · Entry Condition Report · Form 14a · QCAT
South Australia
- Entry report: Provide the CBS SA condition report (Inspection Sheet) at or before commencement. The tenant has 14 calendar days to review, annotate, and return their signed copy.
- Routine notice: Between 7 and 28 days written notice (both a minimum and a maximum). Must specify a 2-hour entry window.
- Frequency cap: 4 per year — clarified by July 2024 reforms.
- Permitted hours: 8am–8pm Monday to Saturday. Not on Sundays or public holidays without tenant’s written agreement.
- Exit inspection: Conduct at or after end of tenancy. Tenant should be given a reasonable opportunity to attend. Disputes: SACAT.
Western Australia
- Entry report — Form 1 mandatory: Complete the Property Condition Report (Form 1) before the tenancy and provide two signed copies within 7 days of move-in. Tenant must return one completed copy within 7 days of receiving it. Photos are NOT a substitute for written descriptions in WA — both are required. Form 1AC available for additional items.
- Routine notice: Between 7 and 14 days written notice. Both a minimum AND a maximum — more than 14 days is also invalid.
- Frequency cap: 4 per year [s.46]. No routine inspection is permitted within the first 3 months of a new tenancy — the same first-inspection blackout VIC has, just less well known for WA.
- Permitted hours: 8am–6pm, or at a time agreed in writing with the tenant.
- Exit inspection: Within 14 days of tenancy termination. Must be conducted in the presence of the tenant unless they’ve been given a reasonable opportunity and chosen not to attend. Use Form 1 for exit as for entry.
- Forms: Form 1 — Consumer Protection WA
Tasmania
- Entry report: Provide at start of tenancy. No mandatory prescribed form currently — use a comprehensive condition report. Tenant has 2 days to return their signed copy under Section 26 of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997.
- Routine notice: Minimum 24 hours written notice — the shortest in Australia.
- Frequency cap: Once every 3 months.
- Permitted hours: Reasonable hours (8am–6pm accepted in practice).
- Smoke alarm checks: Annually, in line with AS 3786 — not the 6-monthly figure sometimes quoted; verify against current CBOS guidance if in doubt.
- Exit and disputes: Reasonable notice for exit inspection. Most tenancy disputes — including bond, condition report, and inspection disputes — go to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner in the first instance, then the Magistrates Court if unresolved. TASCAT (the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) is a separate, long-established body that has only heard pet-consent disputes since the March 2026 pet reforms — it is not the general tenancy dispute pathway. Resources: CBOS Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory
- Entry report: Provide the ACT prescribed condition report at or before commencement. Tenant has 14 days (2 weeks) to review, annotate, and return the report.
- Routine notice: Minimum 7 days written notice.
- Frequency cap: 2 routine inspections per 12-month period — confirmed by multiple 2026 sources, making the ACT the second most restrictive in Australia after VIC. Additional inspections are permitted in the first and final month of the tenancy without counting toward this cap.
- Permitted hours: 8am–6pm Monday to Saturday. Not on Sundays or public holidays without tenant’s agreement.
- Exit and disputes: Bond held by ACT Revenue Office. Disputes: ACAT.
Northern Territory
- Entry report: Provide the signed condition report to the tenant within 3 business days of them taking possession. Tenant then has 5 business days after receiving the report to review, annotate, and return it.
- Routine notice: Minimum 7 days written notice.
- Frequency cap: Once every 3 months.
- Permitted hours: 7am–9pm — one of the widest windows in Australia. Verify with NT Consumer Affairs.
- Exit and disputes: Both parties attend exit inspection where practicable. Disputes: NTCAT.
Rules That Apply in Every State
- Give the tenant a genuine opportunity to be present at entry and exit inspections.
- You cannot inspect more often than the cap allows — even if you believe damage is occurring. Apply to the tribunal for an order.
- You cannot photograph the tenant’s personal belongings unnecessarily. Photograph the property.
- You cannot claim for fair wear and tear from the bond in any state.
- The condition report is your primary evidence at tribunal — a well-documented, jointly-signed entry report with dated photographs is your strongest protection.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Verbal notice. Written notice is required in all states.
- Wrong form in QLD. Not using Form 9 invalidates the notice regardless of timing.
- Inspecting too frequently in VIC. Once every 6 months, and nothing in the first 3 months of a new tenancy.
- Wrong notice window in WA. Both under 7 and over 14 days are invalid.
- Inspecting WA within the first 3 months. WA has the same first-inspection blackout as VIC — it's just less well known.
- Thinking the ACT allows 4 per year. It allows only 2.
- Forgetting QLD's landlord countersign step. The tenant's 7-day window to return the entry report isn't the end of the process — you then have 14 days to countersign and return the final copy.
- Assuming TasCAT handles general TAS tenancy disputes. It only hears pet-consent disputes; bond, condition report, and inspection disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner and Magistrates Court.
- Conducting exit inspection without giving tenant opportunity to attend. Required in all states.
The landlord who wins a bond dispute isn’t always the one who’s right. It’s usually the one with the better paperwork.