Rental document preparation

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Give each referee a clear role and a usable contact route

A contact sheet is useful when it helps the recipient identify the right person and understand what that person can speak about. It should not turn a personal contact into a landlord reference or imply that a reference has already been checked.

Market: AU
Jurisdiction: Australia
Updated: 2026-10-11T02:50:41.941Z

Short answer

Ask before sharing contact details, confirm the relationship and relevant period, and list a contact route the referee actually uses. Keep permission notes and follow-up reminders in your private preparation record rather than adding them to the submitted sheet by default.

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Working checklist

Check the details with the referee

Confirm the person’s name, current role and preferred contact route. An old agency email may no longer reach a former manager. Ask which period they can accurately discuss and avoid implying that they know facts outside that relationship.

If the person has not replied, mark the sheet pending in your private draft. Do not turn an unanswered request into a ready reference by assuming they will respond later.

Action plan

Use this fictional contact sheet

Fictional example for Erin Cooper, applying for 4 Olive Terrace. The email below uses the example.org domain and is not a working referee contact. Replace every invented detail with genuine information before using the format.

Applicant: Erin Cooper. Referee: Casey Brown, former property manager.
Relationship and period: managed Erin’s previous tenancy, March 2023 to July 2026.
Contact route: casey.demo@example.org, illustrative address only.
Private preparation note, kept off the submitted sheet: contact route checked and willingness confirmed.
Second proposed referee: pending reply; not described as confirmed.

Useful context

Confirm the type of reference requested

Read the application’s reference wording before selecting people. A previous property manager, employer and personal referee have different relationships to you. Ask whether the proposed relationship is suitable rather than treating every willing contact as interchangeable.

Tell the person which application context you are preparing for and ask whether they are comfortable being contacted. This is practical coordination advice, not a claim that every situation has the same statutory consent rule.

Keep in view

Test whether the sheet answers the next question

Read the sheet without the surrounding conversation. Can you identify the applicant, referee relationship, period and preferred contact route? Are two applicants’ referees clearly separated? Check spelling and current contact details one final time before selecting the document for this property.

If a referee becomes unavailable, preserve that status and ask about a suitable alternative. The sheet supplies navigation, not an invented endorsement or a prediction that someone will answer.

Relationship described honestly; relevant period stated.
Contact route checked; pending contacts labelled in the draft.
The applicant and referee are not confused in the filename or heading.

Practical example

Limit what the sheet discloses

Avoid copying a referee’s home address or other personal details into the contact sheet merely because an old document contains them. OAIC guidance concerns reasonably necessary personal information collection for agents where the Privacy Act applies. It does not establish universal coverage or a blanket rule for every referee request.

Ask the recipient about a detail that seems unrelated, and distinguish that question from changing the actual relationship or contact record. A short, accurate sheet should remain understandable without reproducing an entire tenancy file.

Provide information relevant to the recipient's application process and handle identity or financial material carefully.

Questions

Common questions

Clear answers for the decisions people usually pause on.

Can an employer be labelled as my previous property manager?

No. Describe the genuine relationship and ask whether that reference type is suitable for the recipient’s process. Changing the label does not create tenancy knowledge.

What should I do when a proposed referee has not replied?

Keep their status pending, check the contact route and consider a suitable alternative if needed. Do not state that the reference is ready or confirmed without a response.

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