As part of your lease agreement you may have agreed to pay a bond equivalent to 4 weeks' rent. You can refer to this LINK if you have questions regarding what is a bond.
The Switch, or the company acting as the agent of the landlord on your lease agreement, will assist you to lodge your bond payment with the state bond administrator in Australia. Here's the process based on which city you will be in:
Western Australia (Perth)
Your bond payment, once received by The Switch, will be lodged on your behalf with DMIRS (Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety). The process runs like this:
Your bond is received by The Switch and you have been sent a payment receipt;
Your lease details will be created on Bonds Online and your bond request is submitted by The Switch;
You will then receive an email from DMIRS asking you to approve your bond;
If you have an Australian mobile number at the time of receiving the email, you can complete this process right away. You will receive a one time text code to proceed and you will receive a confirmation email once the process is completed;
If you DON'T have an Australian mobile number at the time of receiving the email, your bond will still be lodged within 48 hours. Unfortunately due to their system limitation you won't be able to approve your bond until you have an Australian mobile number to receive the one time text code. Please contact us once you get your Australian mobile number.
Once lodged, DMIRS will charge The Switch your bond money via direct debit so your bond is kept by DMIRS for the duration of your lease.
South Australia (Adelaide)
Your bond payment, once received by The Switch, will be lodged on your behalf with CBS (Consumer and Business Services by SA Government). The process runs like this:
Your bond is received by The Switch and you have been sent a payment receipt;
Your lease details will be created on Residential Bonds Online (RBO) and your bond request is submitted by The Switch;
You will then receive an email from RBO with your bond token.
If you already have an RBO account, you can follow the below 3 steps:
Click "activate your account";
Enter your username and password;
Click "activate".
If you are new to RBO and does not have an account with them, you will need to create one first before activating your bond.
Once lodged and approved, RBO will charge The Switch your bond money via direct debit so your bond is kept by RBO for the duration of your lease.
Victoria (Melbourne)
Your bond payment, once received by The Switch, will be lodged on your behalf with RTBA (Residential Tenancies Bond Authority). The process runs like this:
Your bond is received by The Switch and you have been sent a payment receipt;
Your lease details will be created on RTBA portal and your bond request is submitted by The Switch;
You will then receive an email from RTBA asking you to approve your bond.
For your bond to be successfully lodged, you will need to click on the link sent to you by the RTBA and accept the bond terms. This email can often land in your “junk” inbox. This link is only valid for 10 days, so it is important you look out for this email and complete the process.
Once lodged and approved, RTBA will charge The Switch your bond money via direct debit so your bond is kept by RTBA for the duration of your lease.
Important to Note:
You must pay your required bond prior to collecting your room key. We may not be able to issue your room key without providing payment proof or receipt to proof you have paid the bond.
Our preferred method of payment is via direct debit. This is to ensure your payment will be a full 4 weeks' rent. If you are paying by bank transfer, you must also pay for all banking fees including international transaction fee which might be charged for the transaction.
If you are unsure of whether emails you received are legitimate or not, feel free to reach out and we can confirm that for you. Please be aware of spams or phishing emails.
New South Wales (Sydney)
The Switch Sydney uses the online services provided by Fair Trading to manage bonds. You are required to pay your 4 weeks' bond directly via RBO - rental bonds online in NSW.
Prior to your check-in date, The Switch will create your payment request via the RBO portal and there will be an email sent to you for you to complete the registration and payment like this:
You can complete this process only if you have the below two important things:
You have a valid bank account in Australia with BSB and account number.
You have a valid mobile phone number in Australia.
If you do, please follow the email link to complete payment for your bond with RBO. If you don't, please make sure you will open a bank account and get your mobile number set up. Our team can assist you with a new email link once you have these two ready.