Home and family
Housing, renting and moving
Find housing help, understand your rental options and check what to do before paying a bond or moving with children.
If you need somewhere safe tonight
Ask a local homelessness or family-violence service about assessment and accommodation. Your state page links to the right entry points. Availability changes, and a referral does not guarantee a bed. Tell the service about children, accessibility needs and safe ways to contact you.
A safer device or specialist worker may help you make contact if a partner monitors your phone. Do not publish your address or plans in a public group to seek urgent accommodation.
Check the tenancy before making changes
The law where the property is located usually matters more than the state you select here. Ask a local tenant adviser about leaving, staying, removing a co-tenant, bond claims and any family-violence protections. These options and evidence requirements differ.
Get advice before ending a lease, signing a new agreement or changing locks. If you own the home or have a mortgage together, ask for legal and hardship advice before agreeing to a transfer or stopping payments. Moving children may also affect parenting arrangements or court orders.
Keep the different kinds of help separate
Rent Assistance is a federal payment supplement for eligible people. A state bond loan, rental grant, emergency relief and social housing have different applications and conditions. Ask whether you must apply before paying a bond, whether help is repayable and how waiting lists work.
A home-deposit guarantee is not a cash grant. The single-parent home-buying route has its own eligibility and lender assessment. Someone separated but still legally married may not fit its definition; check the official scheme rather than assuming separation is enough.
Before and after a move
Use your state page to find tenancy and bond help. Check school, childcare and health-service catchments separately. Protect linked records before updating a new address or bank details, and ask each service about safe contact. Keep receipts and agreement copies where you can safely access them.
Your next step
Use the official links above, or find local services in your state.
Sources for this guide
- Find practical services nearby (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
- Financial decisions when separating (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
- Check the single-parent home-buying route (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
Related guides
Wording reviewed 5 October 2026. Numerical rules have separate verification dates on Sources and updates.