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Goods and documents left behind in Queensland
In Queensland, personal documents and money left behind must be given to the tenant, and if the tenant cannot be contacted, the personal documents must go to the Office of the Public Trustee within 7 days of the tenancy ending. Everything else depends on the type of tenancy agreement and the total value of what was left.
General information, not legal advice. The Residential Tenancies Authority’s page, listed at the foot of this page, is the place to check. Its dollar thresholds apply to agreements entered into from 1 September 2025.
Whose duty it is
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) writes to property managers and owners. They must make reasonable efforts to contact the tenant about goods left behind; if they can’t reach the owner of the goods, or the goods are not reclaimed, they may sell them by auction. The RTA counts these among reasonable efforts: phone calls and text messages, email, a private message on social media, the tenant’s emergency contact, and an online newspaper advertisement.
Documents and money
Personal documents, such as birth certificates and original family photographs, go back to the tenant, and so does money. Passports, Medicare cards, drivers’ licences and bank cards are not taken by the Public Trustee: they stay the property of whoever issued them, and the RTA’s example is that a Medicare card goes back to the Department of Human Services.
In rooming accommodation, if money is left and the resident owes an amount under the agreement, the provider or agent may keep what is owed before passing the rest of the cash and the personal documents to the Public Trustee.
Value first
Goods should be valued to work out what they are worth. In the RTA’s words, “An item that may appear to be junk can actually be valuable.” A property manager or owner planning to sell or get rid of goods left behind should keep a record of them, such as an itemised list and photos, in case of a dispute later.
Three kinds of agreement
| Agreement | May go straight away | Must be kept first |
|---|---|---|
| General tenancy | Goods with a total value under $2,500, if they would be unhealthy or unsafe to store, lose value if stored, or cost more to remove, store or sell than they are worth | A total value of $2,500 or more (cars, furniture and caravans are the RTA’s examples): stored for one month, then they can be sold at auction |
| Moveable dwelling | The same test: under $2,500 in total, and unhealthy or unsafe to store, losing value in storage, or costing more to deal with than they are worth | $2,500 or more: one month, then auction. Caravans, their contents and other goods used for occupation: 2 months before any sale. Where the tenant rents the site only, goods worth $5,000 or more in total: 2 months before sale |
| Rooming accommodation | Goods that are perishable, worth less than $250 in total, or unhealthy to store | Everything else: 28 days. After that, keep storing them, or donate them to charity if worth less than $900 in total, or sell them if worth $900 or more |
Before an auction, the property manager or owner must make reasonable efforts to tell the owner of the goods about it. The RTA gives a worked example: a tenant moves out leaving a car valued at $3,000 and a lounge chair valued at $500, and does not answer the property manager. The total is over the threshold, so both items wait a month in storage before they can go to auction.
After a sale
For a general tenancy, the costs of removal, storage and sale come out of the auction money and the rest is paid to the Public Trustee. A property manager or owner owed any other money must apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). For a moveable dwelling, the remainder goes to the Public Trustee to be held in the tenant’s name. In rooming accommodation it goes to the person who owned the goods, if they have been found, or otherwise to the Public Trustee.
When the tenant wants their things back
A tenant or resident who wants goods back before they are disposed of must ask in writing and pay the cost of removal or storage. A property manager or owner cannot hold onto a tenant’s possessions in place of rent or other money owed. For moveable dwellings, the RTA adds that amounts such as rent, electricity or damage should be claimed against the bond, or through a claim for compensation at QCAT.
Once the documents are with their owner or the Public Trustee and the waiting time has run, a skip hire or rubbish removal business can talk through clearing what is left.