Interpreter services for property managers and tenants

Queensland is home to people of many cultures, and this diversity is reflected in the state’s property managers, property owners and tenants. At the time of the 2021 Census, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that more than 1 in 5 Queenslanders were born overseas and more than one in 10 spoke a language other than English at home.  

To help our diverse rental sector communicate better and get the support it needs, the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) shares resources and information about useful services.

Communicating with your tenants

If you’re a property manager and you have non-English speaking tenants, you can access the Free Interpreting Service (FIS) provided by Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) to help you discuss the tenancy.

The FIS is an Australian Government funded service available to eligible agency groups to ensure non-English speakers can access key services including housing. It can be used for any private residential property matter, including signing new tenancy agreements and organising inspections.

To access the FIS, you need to register for a client code with TIS National via the client registration form. Phone, video and face-to-face interpreting services are available.

As a property manager, it’s important that you ensure tenants understand the details of the tenancy and their obligations. An interpreter service can help you to meet this need.

If you’d like to learn more about working with an interpreter, the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland and Settlement Services International have developed a free working with interpreters e-learning course.

Communicating with the RTA

If you or your tenants need to contact the RTA to ask bond and tenancy related questions, support is available to customers from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

When customers call the RTA on 1300 366 311, they can request a free interpreter by selecting the interpreter option from the phone menu. Customers then select their language and an interpreter will be brought into the call to translate between the customer and RTA staff.

In some cases when calling the RTA, an interpreter for your requested language may not be available immediately. If this is the case, the RTA can help book an interpreter call for you.

The RTA is unable to provide an interpreter service to help property managers and tenants communicate with each other. However, if you are using the RTA’s free dispute resolution service, an interpreter can be requested for the conciliation process. This helps property managers and tenants to better understand each other’s concerns, as well as helping the RTA to facilitate discussion.

Translated resources for tenants

The RTA’s Pocket guide for tenants – houses and units (Form 17a) answers commonly asked questions about tenancies including repairs, rent payments, lease agreements and rental bonds. It is available in eight languages other than English.  

This handy pocket guide must be provided to a tenant before they lease a property. The translations are available at Pocket guide for tenants - other languages.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support

If you or your tenants identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, you can access Songlines, the RTA’s dedicated phone service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers. Calls are answered by staff trained to provide a culturally appropriate, sensitive and respectful service when answering questions about renting in Queensland.

Interpreter services are also available for 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Interpreters for these languages need to be booked in advance. Further information about the service and the languages available can be found at Songlines: our dedicated phone line.  

Stakeholder collaboration to inform services

The RTA’s stakeholder working groups include representatives for tenants, residents, property managers and owners. The REIQ is a member, providing insights on the experience of property managers and owners. The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland and Settlement Services International are also members, highlighting the experience of multicultural tenants and how services can better meet their needs.

Contacting the RTA

Information about how to contact the RTA is available on the RTA website in 27 different languages.

Read more about property management from the REIQ: QCAT update - Quiet enjoyment and mutual termination.

Or browse our articles.