What decides your bond refund
A bond is held against things like unpaid rent, damage and cleaning. Nobody can promise you how a refund will go, but cleaning is the part you control. Queensland's RTA reported that cleaning was the most common reason for a claim against a bond in 2024 to 25, at 21.5% of claims.
The standard isn't perfection. It's the home's condition at the start, as your entry condition report records it, allowing for fair wear and tear. Victoria's Act and WA's Act both let the landlord's side claim for cleaning where a home wasn't left reasonably clean, judged against the start.
How to get your bond refunded, step by step
Find your entry condition report
It's the standard for the clean. If you've lost your copy, ask the landlord or agent for one now, not on inspection day.
Clean to the start condition
Go room by room, leaving what's only wear. Queensland's RTA lists window tracks, skirting boards, light fittings, ceiling fans, vents, inside cupboards and the oven as things tenants commonly miss.
Decide who does it
That's your call. No tenancy law we read makes you hire a professional for an ordinary clean, and the exceptions are narrow, mostly pet conditions about carpets. Your state's rules page has them.
Photograph the empty home
WA's Consumer Protection tells tenants to take photos of the cleaned, empty property as evidence. Do every room, the oven and the bathrooms.
Hand back every key
NSW and the ACT both tell tenants to return all keys. In the ACT, a tenant who doesn't may be treated as still in possession.
Go to the final inspection
Bring your entry report and photos, and walk through with the landlord or agent if you can.
Make or answer the claim
Queensland's RTA says not to claim until the vacate or handover date. If the other side starts a claim, accept it only if you agree with the amount you'll receive, as Consumer Affairs Victoria advises.
State by state: who pays out your bond refund
| Where the claim goes | If someone disputes it | |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | RTBA, and either side can start the claim | RDRV, a VCAT service, or VCAT |
| New South Wales | Rental Bonds Online, and the landlord has up to 14 days to accept | The landlord applies to NCAT within 14 days of the notice |
| Queensland | RTA, with a Refund of rental bond form (Form 4) | Dispute resolution request within 14 days, then QCAT |
| Western Australia | Bonds Administration | The Commissioner for Consumer Protection decides, with 7 days to appeal to the Magistrates Court |
| South Australia | CBS, for the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs | Conciliation, then SACAT (Law Handbook) |
| ACT | ACT Revenue Office, and either side can ask | Written notice within 2 weeks, then ACAT |
| Tasmania | Rental Deposit Authority, with the owner's claim form | Dispute within 10 days of lodgement, and the Commissioner decides |
| Northern Territory | The landlord repays within 7 business days | Apply to NTCAT |
Asking for evidence when a landlord makes a bond claim
Ask to see the evidence. Several places now require it. In Victoria, since 13 October 2026, the rental provider must give it to you at least 3 days before claiming, and it can't conflict with a condition report. In Queensland it's due within 14 days of the claim or dispute, and not providing it is an offence. In the Northern Territory, a landlord who keeps bond must send a statutory declaration and, for dirty premises, copies of receipts or invoices.
Then put it next to your entry report and photos. If a claim covers dirt the report shows was there on day one, or wear from normal living, raise that in your dispute. WA's government adds that only actual costs can be charged for cleaning or repairs.
Using a business? Keep the receipt. Some businesses offer to come back for items the agent flags, within a set time and on conditions, so get those re-clean terms in writing before you book.
Worth doing yourself before you claim the bond
Worth doing yourself
- Empty every cupboard, the fridge and the bins before the clean starts.
- Wipe light switches, door handles and skirting boards.
- Vacuum first, then mop the hard floors last.
- Take the photos and keep every receipt.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- An oven or rangehood with built-up grease.
- Shower screens and grout with soap scum.
- The whole home in one visit when your last days are full.
Doing the end of lease clean yourself? Never mix products
Never mix bleach with ammonia, acids or other cleaners, because that can release hazardous fumes. Read the label, keep products in their original containers and work in a well ventilated area. If someone is poisoned, ring the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26, or 000 in an emergency.
The three dates we'd set for your bond refund
Put three dates in your phone the day you give notice: the clean, the final inspection and the first day you can claim. Book the clean for after the last box is out, keep your entry report with whoever's doing it, and don't accept a claim you disagree with just to be done with it.