About residential services

If you are responsible for the management of a private boarding house, supported accommodation hostel or aged rental accommodation, you operate a residential service. Some student accommodation and all backpacker hostels are exempt.

As a provider of these services, you must comply with the Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002 (the Act).

Who it applies to

Residential services are accommodation types where:

• at least four residents (other than the owner) live in one or more rooms and pay rent
• each resident has a right to occupy one or more rooms, but not the whole premises
• rooms are not self-contained, except in aged rental accommodation where you provide meals and/or personal care services
• residents share facilities, such as a bathroom, outside their room.

A residential service may also provide food service and/or a personal care service.

Who it doesn´t apply to

Some services are exempt from the legislation, including:

• student accommodation
• services regulated under other legislation, including:  
  • aged care service under the Aged Care Act 1997 (Commonwealth)
  • an authorised mental health service under the Mental health Act 2000
  • private hospital under the Private Health Facilities Act 1999
  • licensed premises under the Liquor Act 1992 
• services that have funding agreements with a government agency, including those:
  • under funding or in premises owned by Aboriginal Hostels Limited
  • conducted by the Department of Housing
  • funded under the Housing Act 2003
  • conducted by the Department of Disability Services, or funded under the Disability Services Act 1992
• accommodation specifically for tourists or travellers, such as backpackers, motels, and bed and breakfasts
• accommodation to employees in connection with their work, or contractors in connection with their service contracts
• retirement villages registered under the Retirement Villages Act 1999.

For more information, see student accommodation.

Your responsibilities

As a residential service provider, you need to:

• apply for registration to operate your residential service
• apply for accreditation
• continually comply with the requirements of the Act.

Our role

Fair Trading established the Residential Services Unit to manage the residential services´ registration and accreditation process. We:

• regulate the conduct of residential services through registration and accreditation
• encourage providers to continually improve their services
• promote the standards and accreditation system to key stakeholders and the community
• monitor the effects of regulation on the industry and residents
• build and improve the industry to provide highest quality service
• monitor for compliance with the Act
• investigate complaints relating to alleged breaches of the Act.