Rental bonds and the TPAR: an Australian property manager's guide

Two pieces of Australian admin trip up property managers more than most: handling the rental bond correctly, and knowing whether the business has to lodge a TPAR. Both have hard rules and real penalties.

Bonds are lodged with the state, not held by the agent

A residential rental bond is not the agent's money to hold. It must be lodged with the relevant state or territory bond authority: the RTBA in Victoria, the Rental Bond Board (via NSW Fair Trading) in New South Wales, the RTA in Queensland, and the equivalent body in each other state and territory. The bond sits with the authority until the tenancy ends.

How much, and how fast

The maximum bond is set by each state: four weeks' rent in New South Wales and in Queensland, for example. There are strict timeframes to lodge it after you receive it; in New South Wales an agent has until 10 working days after the end of the month in which the bond was paid. Holding a bond outside the authority, or lodging it late, is a breach. Check the current limit and lodgement deadline for the specific state.

The TPAR: reporting contractor payments to the ATO

The Taxable Payments Annual Report tells the ATO what a business paid to contractors during the year. It applies to businesses that provide building and construction, cleaning, courier, road freight, information technology, or security, investigation or surveillance services. The test is what your business supplies: an agency that runs its own maintenance or cleaning service is in scope when the payments it receives for those services are 10 per cent or more of its business income, and it then reports what it paid contractors to deliver them. The report is due by 28 August each year.

Why this is a portfolio problem

Across many tenancies and many tradespeople, tracking each bond lodgement, each state's rules, and every reportable contractor payment by hand is where errors creep in. Cuvanti tracks bond lodgements per tenancy and the contractor payments that feed a TPAR, so the deadlines are managed rather than remembered.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm bond limits, lodgement deadlines and your TPAR obligations for your state and business with a qualified adviser.