Rent in Australia has risen 2.5 times faster than wages over the past five years, pushing rental affordability to record lows.
Data from property research firm Cotality shows national rents increased 43.9 per cent in the five years to September 2025, compared with wage growth of just 17.5 per cent. Tenants now spend an average 33.4 per cent of their pre-tax income on rent, which is the highest level recorded.
When renters are already under financial pressure, problems like urgent repairs, unsafe conditions or unexpected rent increases become harder to deal with. Many people are left not just wondering what to do, but where to start.
Searches for “rental complaint”, “landlord not fixing repairs”, “who do I complain to about my landlord” and “tenancy ombudsman” are rising, with renters discovering that there isn’t one clear place to go.
Hear Me Out was created to make that first step clearer. The free online tool helps renters identify relevant complaint pathways and understand what options may be available.
The rental complaint system
If your landlord refuses to carry out urgent repairs or ignores your concerns, it might seem reasonable to assume there is a single housing authority that handles complaints.
In reality, it can depend which state or territory you’re in, whether the issue involves repairs, bond disputes, eviction, discrimination or safety, and whether you’re renting in the private market, community housing or public housing.
Some matters go to a tenancy tribunal while others may involve Fair Trading or consumer affairs bodies, and certain issues may fall under anti-discrimination commissions or housing departments. For renters already under financial strain, navigating that complexity can feel overwhelming.
Where Hear Me Out fits
When you’re already dealing with rental stress, the last thing you should have to do is navigate a complicated complaints system.
Hear Me Out is a free online tool created by the National Justice Project to make that first step clearer. It does not provide legal advice, but it can help people work out which complaint body or pathway may be relevant.
The tool asks a series of straightforward questions about what happened and who was involved. Based on those answers, it directs users to the complaint body or organisation best placed to deal with the issue, whether that’s a tenancy tribunal, Fair Trading, a housing authority or another relevant body.
If someone needs help putting their concerns into words, Hear Me Out also includes a tool to help generate a clear, structured complaint draft. Removing that initial confusion can make the difference between abandoning the issue and taking action.
Why many renters don’t complain
It’s important to recognise the power imbalance many tenants experience. Tenants may worry about being labelled “difficult”, not having their lease renewed, facing further rent increases, or damaging their relationship with a landlord or agent.
When vacancy rates are low and rents are high, the consequences can feel severe. As a result, many renters tolerate problems, delaying repairs, absorbing costs, or avoiding escalation altogether.
Complaints are vital for accountability
Rental complaints are not just individual disputes. They can also reveal patterns of unsafe housing, repeated neglect of repairs, unlawful evictions or discriminatory treatment. When complaints rise, it often reflects broader systemic strain, including the increasing cost-of-living pressures many renters are experiencing.
But if the process is too complex, intimidating or unclear, many issues never reach a formal body. A fair rental system depends on renters being able to raise concerns without fear and without needing insider knowledge of how multiple agencies intersect.
If your landlord isn’t addressing repairs, if your rent has increased unexpectedly, or if you’re unsure whether something is lawful, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Hear Me Out can help you understand which complaint pathways may be available and what your next steps could be. Because at a time of rising rental stress, renters should not be left to untangle a fragmented complaints system on their own.