If your hot water system dies or there's a gas leak in your rented home, you don't have to wait for your landlord to authorise the expense on their own timeline. Australian tenancy law draws a hard line around what counts as an urgent repair — and getting it fixed doesn't require putting your tenancy at risk.
What counts as urgent
Urgent repairs are generally faults that threaten safety or habitability — no running water, no electricity, gas leaks, burst water services, major structural damage, or broken security locks. Where these apply, tenancy law generally allows you to arrange a qualified tradesperson yourself and seek reimbursement from the landlord, or have a tribunal order compliance and compensation.
The one thing you should never do
Do not stop paying rent as a way to pressure your landlord over repairs. Withholding rent puts you in breach of your own tenancy agreement, which gives the landlord a clean legal path to seek your eviction. It's a common instinct, but it consistently backfires.
The right way to escalate
Classify the fault first. If it's urgent, notify your landlord immediately by phone and in writing (text or email) so there's a clear timestamped record. If it's non-urgent but still needs fixing, send a formal written notice — commonly called a Notice to Remedy Breach or Notice to Lessor — giving a set period (varies by state, but commonly one to two weeks) for the repair to be carried out.
If the landlord ignores the deadline
You can apply to your state's tenancy tribunal (NCAT in NSW, VCAT in Victoria, QCAT in Queensland, and equivalents elsewhere) for an order compelling the repair, reimbursement of costs you've already paid for an urgent fix, and compensation for the period you lived with the problem — including a retroactive reduction in rent for loss of amenity, in some cases.
Retaliation is taken seriously
Tribunals in every state treat retaliatory action — like an eviction notice that follows shortly after a legitimate repair request — as a serious issue, and landlords who use eviction as a pressure tactic against tenants asserting their rights can face real consequences.