Reference follow-up
Situation playbookSend a useful reminder to a willing referee
Give an agreed referee enough context to recognise the enquiry, without pressuring them or writing their answer for them.
- Market
- AU
- Jurisdiction
- Australia
- Updated
Short answer
Contact the referee through the route they agreed to use. Identify yourself, the property or enquiry and any actual timing you were given. Ask whether their contact details and willingness are still current; do not assume that no reply means a positive reference or an agency rejection.
Continue in RentFiles
Turn this guide into a clear application pack
Fill your personal rental profile before deciding on a PDF export. Keep referee information accurate and follow the recipient’s process.
Continue with the Rental cover letter guide.
- Create a personal rental profile, delivered as a shareable PDF, to complement the process required by the agent or landlord.
- Fill your application before you choose whether to pay for a PDF export.
- RentFiles helps organise the file; the agent or landlord decides the application outcome.
Useful context
First check that this is a reminder
This page assumes the person previously agreed to act as a referee. If they have not, start by asking permission instead. If an agency has not confirmed receipt of your application, use the separate application follow-up guide. Keep those conversations distinct: your referee can clarify their availability, but may not know what is happening inside the agency’s process.
Working checklist
Gather only the context they need
Before writing, check your earlier conversation and the contact details you were allowed to provide. Use an actual request or date rather than inventing urgency.
- Relationship: remind them how they know you, without suggesting an answer they should give.
- Enquiry: identify the property or requesting organisation only to the extent needed for recognition.
- Contact route: use the address or phone number they previously confirmed.
- Timing: quote a stated date accurately, or say that no response date was specified.
- Choice: give them a simple way to update details, say they are unavailable or withdraw their agreement.
Action plan
Send a bounded reminder, then act on the reply
A useful reminder asks about the next practical step. Do not repeatedly message through several channels or assume that willingness is permanent. If they correct a contact detail, update your working record and ask the recipient how to correct any version already provided.
- Check whether the referee has actually received an enquiry rather than stating that they missed one.
- If they are unavailable, keep that fact visible and ask the recipient about an appropriate next step.
- Do not answer the reference on their behalf, supply a positive rating or alter their own statement.
- If there is no reply, leave availability unknown and avoid presenting it as confirmed in a new application.
Practical example
A reminder with an easy way to respond
Fictional example: Maya Ellis previously agreed to be Jordan Reed’s former property-manager referee. Jordan is applying for 6 Acacia Close. The message below illustrates wording; it does not describe an actual reference or successful application.
- Subject: Reference reminder for Jordan Reed, 6 Acacia Close
- Hello Maya, thank you again for agreeing to be a referee for my rental application.
- I have provided the email address you confirmed for the application at 6 Acacia Close. Have you received an enquiry, and are you still comfortable responding if contacted?
- I have not been given a response deadline. If your contact details or availability have changed, please let me know so I can correct my record.
- There is no need to use any wording from me; please respond in your own words. Thank you, Jordan.
Keep in view
Keep the reference independent and the information limited
The OAIC explains that, where the Privacy Act covers a real estate agent, collection of personal information must be reasonably necessary for its functions or activities.
Provide information relevant to the recipient's application process and handle identity or financial material carefully.
Do not forward your full identity or financial file to a referee merely as background. Share relevant context with their agreement and let them provide their own account. RentFiles can organise a personal profile alongside the required process, but it does not verify a reference or guarantee the recipient’s decision.
Questions
Common questions
Clear answers for the decisions people usually pause on.
Does an unanswered referee reminder explain an application decision?
No. You may know only that your reminder has not received a reply. Do not infer what the agency received, what the referee said or why the application was decided without actual feedback.
Can I send my referee the answer I want them to give?
You can supply relevant factual context they need to recognise the enquiry. Let them describe their own experience and respond independently; do not write an endorsement for them to repeat.
What if the referee is no longer willing to help?
Respect the change, update your records and ask the recipient about the next step. Do not keep presenting that person as an available referee or substitute another person without their agreement.
Keep building