Paying rent and bond for the first time in Melbourne: what to check before you pay

1What do you pay the first time?

The bond, the first rent payment and possibly a holding deposit.

These are the most the law allows, not what you must pay. For example, asking for the bond plus one week's rent, or for the full 14 days, are both within the limit. If they ask for more, ask why. You only owe the items above. Rental providers, agents and third-party platforms can't charge application fees, viewing fees or fees for collecting rent.

Here is a worked example. You like a one-bedroom apartment at A$450 a week and pay weekly. Before moving in you need about A$1,950 for the bond plus A$900 for the first two weeks, about A$2,850 in total. If the rent is paid monthly instead, the first payment is a month's rent of about A$1,950, so about A$3,900 in total. Your first month in Melbourne: how much to have ready adds living costs.

2How do you convert weekly rent to monthly, and why not just multiply by 4?

One month's rent = weekly rent × 52 ÷ 12.

Rent in Australia is quoted weekly, but a payment request sometimes shows a monthly figure, so check it yourself. The monthly conversion multiplies weekly rent by 52 and divides by 12, or roughly weekly rent × 4.33. At A$450 a week one month is about A$1,950, not A$1,800. At A$840 a week it is about A$3,640, not A$3,360. That gap, more than A$100 and nearly A$300 at the higher rent, flows straight into the bond cap and any monthly rent payment.

When is the cap not one month? When the weekly rent is over A$900, or VCAT has set a higher bond. Neither applies to a room in a share house, but they can show up on a high-end whole-property rental. If one does, call Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 55 81 81 before you sign. Rooming houses and student accommodation operators have their own rules, so ask before you sign.

Pay the bond and the rent separately and write "bond" or "first rent" in the description. If you send one combined payment and the records don't match later, nobody can say which part was which, and it makes the end of the tenancy harder.

3Whose account is it? Check before you transfer

If the account doesn't match the payee on the agreement, don't send anything yet.

Start with the agreement. The payee name, BSB (an Australian bank branch code) and account number must match your rental agreement or formal payment request exactly. A new account sent by email doesn't count: a sudden change of account is a classic scam move, so pause and don't reply to that email. If the rental provider is collecting the money, check their name and the property address against the agreement.

Then verify through channels you found yourself. Call the public number on the agency's website, not the one in the email signature, and ask whether the agent exists and the account is the company's. Look the agency up on CAV's register of licensed estate agents and stop if there is no licence. When you enter a BSB and account number in an Australian banking app, most major banks now check the payee name (it is called Confirmation of Payee). If it shows a mismatch, don't confirm.

On payment methods, official advice is that direct transfers into a bank account are less secure than BPAY. If you are given a BPAY biller code and reference, check those instead. You can sidestep the account question for the bond by paying the RTBA directly, so the money never goes into their account: Victoria rental bond has the details. Don't pay anything before you have seen the property, either yourself or through someone you trust or on a live video call. And a payment method doesn't prove the other side has the right to rent the place out.

4Living overseas: how do you send the money?

Ask which method the payee accepts, then allow for the transfer time.

Honestly, paying the first amount without an Australian account is a hassle. An Australian bank account makes it easiest: some banks let you open one online before you leave and activate it with your passport at a branch after you arrive, depending on their current rules. Without one, the common routes are an international wire (SWIFT) from your own bank to the payee, or a money transfer company. Check that a transfer company is registered with AUSTRAC, Australia's anti-money-laundering regulator, which publishes a public register. Money sent to a scammer is almost impossible to recover.

How long does it take? Anywhere from a few minutes to about five business days (that is the line on MoneySmart, the government's financial guidance site), and longer over weekends, public holidays or when a bank runs checks, so don't leave it to the day before the deadline. Costs come in layers: your bank's fee, anything an intermediary bank deducts on the way, a possible incoming fee at the receiving bank and the exchange rate margin, so the other side can end up with less than you sent. Before you send, ask whether you can cover the intermediary fees and whether the exchange rate is locked in now or set on arrival, and ask the payee to confirm they need to receive the full Australian-dollar amount.

After you send, give the payee the transfer receipt your bank issues (it has a reference number) and ask them to confirm the amount in writing once it arrives. Sending is not the same as arriving. If there is a deadline, such as the RTBA's payment link, which lasts 48 hours, allow extra time. Your bank will probably ask for the purpose of an outgoing foreign-currency payment, so answer honestly and ask it about limits and paperwork.

5After you pay: what to keep, and how to confirm they got it

A transfer screenshot is not confirmation that they received it.

Keep four things: your bank transfer receipt (the international transfer receipt for overseas payments), the signed rental agreement, the RTBA receipt and rent receipts. On rent receipts: if you pay in person, you must be given one on the spot, and if you pay another way, the rental provider must give you one within 5 business days of you asking. They have to keep rent records for at least 12 months. Keep your own copy too, because you will need it at the end of the tenancy or in a dispute.

After paying, ask the other side: has the money arrived, is the amount right and which rental period does it cover? Some agency apps show this directly. If not, ask by email. Sending them a screenshot is only telling them, it isn't their confirmation. A payment still being processed by a bank can take days to show, so don't send a second one because you can't see the first. Ask first.

For the bond, you are waiting for the RTBA's email and receipt, not an agent's "got it". When the email asks you to confirm, first work out whether it asks you to accept or to pay: An RTBA email arrived: what to check before accepting shows how. The receipt should arrive within 7 days. If it hasn't by day 15, call 1300 137 164.

6How do you pay rent after the first time?

Pay on the cycle and dates in your agreement, not on the last day.

Your agreement sets how often rent is paid (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) and on which dates. The rental provider must offer at least one electronic payment method, so they can't insist on cash. They can't charge you a fee for paying rent (your bank's own transfer fee is separate) and they can't charge late fees. If someone asks for an extra "handling fee" or "platform fee", ask what it is and where it comes from, and don't send it in the same payment as the rent.

Direct debit is easy, but keep enough money in the account. If you pay manually, allow for bank processing time: banks don't process on weekends and public holidays, so pay a day or two early. Say you change your bank card and forget to update the direct debit on the old account: the next payment fails, and all the other side sees is "rent not paid". Fix the direct debit before you switch cards or accounts.

If you aren't sure you can pay on time, tell the rental provider or agent in writing before the due date, with the reason and the date you can pay, rather than waiting for a notice. Unpaid rent can still lead to formal steps. And if a payment request looks wrong, you can ask our advisers directly.