Make an Enquiry or Complaint to the Registrar of Community Housing
How and when to make an enquiry or complaint to the Registrar, and the process we use when you contact us with these.
The Registrar’s role
One of our most important responsibilities is to investigate complaints people make against community housing providers.
We only investigate registered providers
We can investigate complaints about community housing providers when they are registered under:
- the National Regulatory System for Community Housing (NRSCH)
- the NSW Local Scheme.
We check if they are meeting their obligations set out by the National Regulatory Code.
How to check if a housing provider is registered
You can find out if a provider is registered by searching the:
- NRSCH National Provider Register
- NSW Local Scheme Provider Register (open the document and press Ctrl-F to search).
When to make a complaint to us
If you’re concerned about whether a registered community housing provider is meeting its responsibilities under the National Regulatory Code, you can notify us or make a complaint. You can do this whether you are a:
- tenant
- tenant advocate
- person who works with a registered housing provider.
Complaints and notifications are an important source of information for us.
Complaints the Registrar does not handle
We cannot help with:
Disputes between tenants and their community housing providers, or disputes between tenants
This includes disputes over things like:
- the termination of a tenancy agreement (lease)
- unpaid rent
- getting your bond back
- repairs and maintenance
- rent increases.
For help with rental disputes, you can contact:
- Aboriginal Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
- Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
- Tenants Union of NSW
For help with rental dispute resolution, contact the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
For more help:
Appeals from decisions by registered community housing providers
Applicants for community housing and community housing tenants can appeal decisions through the Housing Appeals Committee. Appeals can relate to:
- eligibility for waiting lists, priority on waiting lists, provision of emergency housing
- transfer, disability modifications of dwellings, succession of tenancy, calculation of rental subsidy.
Check if the provider is registered
Check if your provider is registered under the NRSCH or the NSW Local Scheme.
If the provider is registered under the NRSCH, use an online form or contact us
If the provider is registered under the NRSCH, you can use the online form, or contact us via mail, email or phone.
If the provider is registered under the NSW Local Scheme, contact us
If the provider is registered under the NSW Local Scheme, contact us.
Contact the Registrar of Community Housing
Mailing address:
Registrar of Community Housing
PO Box 2236
Burwood North NSW 2134
If you'd like to keep your complaint anonymous
If you wish to remain anonymous or your information kept confidential, this will be respected and we will investigate your complaint as fully as possible. However, this may at times impede our ability to investigate your complaint. If you choose to remain anonymous, we will not be able to provide you with information on the outcome of the investigation when it’s completed.
How we handle your complaint or enquiry
We receive your complaint or enquiry
If you’d like to, you may have someone else help you with your complaint or enquiry.
We keep a record
If you call us, we write down what you tell us. If you email us or write a letter to us, we keep a record of the complaint or enquiry you sent through.
We let you know if we can handle your complaint
If the complaint is not related to something we handle, we will refer you to the appropriate organisation.
If your complaint is something we handle
If your complaint is something we handle and about a registered community housing provider, we will:
- attempt to resolve the issue right away if we can.
- (if we cannot immediately resolve your issue) make a plan to investigate the issue and notify the community housing provider involved. The provider will be given an opportunity to respond.
- analyse the response and any evidence we’ve received in relation to your complaint to help us decide if the provider is meeting their responsibilities under the National Regulatory Code.
Complaints about the Registrar of Community Housing
The NSW Ombudsman Office handles complaints about public sector agencies and their staff, including the Registrar of Community Housing.
Unreasonable conduct
Most people making a complaint to us behave reasonably, even when stressed, frustrated or angry. In situations where people do behave in unacceptable ways, we follow our Guidelines for managing unreasonable complainant conduct to handle it. For information on what we consider to be unacceptable behaviour, see our Unacceptable behaviour statement.