Wednesday, 23 September 2026

 Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc – Minister for Local Government, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Renters) (14:16): I rise to update the house on the Carroll Labor government’s portable bond scheme. This Australia-first program puts money back into the pockets of people, allowing them to transfer their bonds directly from their current rental property to their new rental property. That means they do not have to save thousands of dollars for a second bond before their first bond has been refunded. It is practical, it is simple and it works, and more than 1600 bonds have been ported since 1 July this year. All Victorians deserve the dignity of a safe and stable home, and that includes the one in four Victorian households that rent their home. That bond reform is one of more than 150 changes that Labor has made to making renting fairer in Victoria. They include banning rental bidding, requiring minimum standards before advertising, allowing people who rent to have pets, ending third-party fees for rental applications, banning no-fault evictions, a standard application with protection of personal data, longer periods for notices to vacate and rental increases, and creating and funding Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria.

These changes are all at risk. Alternative policy approaches will shred these reforms. As the Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs told this house:

Rental reforms have gone too far.

Or as the member for Murray Plains has said:

I think that the balance has gone too far.

Or as the member for Polwarth has said:

… you are putting the settings in the wrong direction.

Or as Pauline Hanson, the Leader of One Nation, has said:

Landlords are being forced to accept pets.

They are coming after the pets, the One Nation–Liberal coalition. They are coming after the dogs. They are coming after the cats. This One Nation–Liberal coalition will absolutely smash renters. Labor is on their side.