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1. What was proposedRebecca VassarottiGreens · Crossbench
   Read the original wording (290 words)

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) around one third of Canberrans are renters and they are paying record high rents, with the median weekly rent reaching $710 for a house and $580 for a unit in June 2026; (b) rental bond payments in the ACT are generally 4-weeks rent, meaning the median bond payment required is $2,840 for a house and $2,320 for a unit; (c) the median personal weekly income in the ACT is $1,158, meaning a regular person could need to pay more than a fortnight’s worth of take-home pay to finance a bond; (d) when moving between rental properties, renters are required to pay a bond upfront while waiting for their existing bond to be returned; (e) the need to finance a second rental bond is difficult for many Canberrans, especially as cost-of-living pressures increase; (f) a portable rental-bond scheme lets renters transfer their existing bond to a new rental property; (g) portable rental-bond schemes are available in both NSW and Victoria and a scheme is being introduced in South Australia; and (h) any measure to reduce moving costs between rental properties would have benefits to different members of our community, including young people, women leaving violent relationships and low-income renters; and (2) calls on the Government to: (a) develop and implement a portable rental-bond scheme to allow renters to transfer an existing rental bond from one tenancy to another free of charge, commencing by July 2028; and (b) report back to the Assembly with progress on the above on the second-last sitting day of February 2027, including an analysis of: (i) legislative and policy change required to implement a portable rental- bond scheme; and (ii) challenges and opportunities to implementing an ICT system to support a portable rental-bond scheme.

2. Proposed changeEd CocksLiberal · Opposition23 September 2026

   Grouped by key words as: rewrote the proposal, changed a number or target, added reporting or consultation, turned an action into a review.

   The exact wording of this change

   Omit all text after paragraph (1)(c), substitute: “(2) further notes that: (a) according to some data, median weekly asking rents in Canberra increased have increased by approximately 49 percent for houses and 45 percent for units over the decade; (b) over the same period, the ACT Government has progressively increased the taxation, regulatory and compliance burden associated with providing residential rental housing, including through land tax, restrictions on rental increases, changes to tenancy termination arrangements and minimum energy efficiency requirements; and (c) measures seeking to address pressures experienced by renters should consider both direct assistance and the effect of government policy settings on the cost and supply of rental housing; (3) calls on the ACT Government to: (a) investigate options to reduce the financial burden on ACT renters who are required to pay a new rental bond while waiting for an existing rental bond to be returned, including, but not limited to: (i) a portable rental bond scheme; (ii) measures to accelerate the return of existing rental bonds where there is no outstanding claim or dispute; (iii) temporary or bridging arrangements to address the period between paying of a new rental bond and return of an existing rental bond; (iv) changes to, or expansion of, the existing ACT Rental Bond Help arrangements; and (v) other legislative, administrative or financial measures that would reduce the need for renters to finance two rental bonds at the same time; and (b) report back to the Assembly within six months, with the report to include, for each option, assessment of: (i) legislative, policy, administrative and ICT changes; (ii) costs, benefits, risks and potential unintended consequences; (iii) financial risk transferred to the Territory; (iv) treatment of disputed claims, outstanding tenant liabilities and any debts that may become owing by renters to the Territory; (v) interactions with existing arrangements; (vi) evidence from initiatives operating in other jurisdictions; and (vii) implementation planning for the current term of the Legislative Assembly, including timeframes.”. Debate continued.

   Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Its wording is in the final text.

3. Proposed changeTara CheyneLabor · Minister23 September 2026

   Grouped by key words as: added a new call or point.

   The exact wording of this change

   to Mr Cocks’ proposed amendment: In paragraph (3)(b), omit “six months”, substitute “nine months”. Debate continued.

   Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Its wording is in the final text.

4. What the Assembly decidedAgreed

   Decided on the voices: no individual votes were recorded, so this doesn’t show that every MLA agreed.

   Final agreed wording, with changes marked

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) around one third of Canberrans are renters and they are paying record high rents, with the median weekly rent reaching $710 for a house and $580 for a unit in June 2026; (b) rental bond payments in the ACT are generally 4-weeks rent, meaning the median bond payment required is $2,840 for a house and $2,320 for a unit; (c) the median personal weekly income in the ACT is $1,158, meaning a regular person could need to pay more than a fortnight’s worth of take-home pay to finance a bond; (d) when moving between rental properties, renters are required to pay a bond upfront while waiting for their existing bond to be returned; (e) the need to finance a second rental bond is difficult for many Canberrans, especially as cost-of-living pressures increase; (f) a portable rental-bond scheme lets renters transfer their existing bond to a new rental property; (g) portable rental-bond schemes are available in both NSW and Victoria and a scheme is being introduced in South Australia; and (h) any measure to reduce moving costs between rental properties would have benefits to different members of our community, including young people, women leaving violent relationships and low-income renters; and (2) further notes that: (a) according to some data, median weekly asking rents in Canberra increased have increased by approximately 49 percent for houses and 45 percent for units over the decade; (b) over the same period, the ACT Government has progressively increased the taxation, regulatory and compliance burden associated with providing residential rental housing, including through land tax, restrictions on rental increases, changes to tenancy termination arrangements and minimum energy efficiency requirements; and (c) measures seeking to address pressures experienced by renters should consider both direct assistance and the effect of government policy settings on the cost and supply of rental housing; (3) calls on the ACT Government to: (a) investigate options to reduce the financial burden on ACT renters who are required to pay a new rental bond while waiting for an existing rental bond to be returned, including, but not limited to: (i) a portable rental bond scheme; (ii) measures to accelerate the return of existing rental bonds where there is no outstanding claim or dispute; (iii) temporary or bridging arrangements to address the period between paying of a new rental bond and return of an existing rental bond; (iv) changes to, or expansion of, the existing ACT Rental Bond Help arrangements; and (v) other legislative, administrative or financial measures that would reduce the need for renters to finance two rental bonds at the same time; and (b) report back to the Assembly within nine months, with the report to include, for each option, assessment of: (i) legislative, policy, administrative and ICT changes; (ii) costs, benefits, risks and potential unintended consequences; (iii) financial risk transferred to the Territory; (iv) treatment of disputed claims, outstanding tenant liabilities and any debts that may become owing by renters to the Territory; (v) interactions with existing arrangements; (vi) evidence from initiatives operating in other jurisdictions; and (vii) implementation planning for the current term of the Legislative Assembly, including timeframes.

   Original and final wording compared

   taken out put in

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) around one third of Canberrans are renters and they are paying record high rents, with the median weekly rent reaching $710 for a house and $580 for a unit in June 2026; (b) rental bond payments in the ACT are generally 4-weeks rent, meaning the median bond payment required is $2,840 for a house and $2,320 for a unit; (c) the median personal weekly income in the ACT is $1,158, meaning a regular person could need to pay more than a fortnight’s worth of take-home pay to finance a bond; (d) when moving between rental properties, renters are required to pay a bond upfront while waiting for their existing bond to be returned; (e) the need to finance a second rental bond is difficult for many Canberrans, especially as cost-of-living pressures increase; (f) a portable rental-bond scheme lets renters transfer their existing bond to a new rental property; (g) portable rental-bond schemes are available in both NSW and Victoria and a scheme is being introduced in South Australia; and (h) any measure to reduce moving costs between rental properties would have benefits to different members of our community, including young people, women leaving violent relationships and low-income renters; and (2) [put in: further notes that: (a) according to some data, median weekly asking rents in Canberra increased have increased by approximately 49 percent for houses and 45 percent for units over the decade; (b) over the same period, the ACT Government has progressively increased the taxation, regulatory and compliance burden associated with providing residential rental housing, including through land tax, restrictions on rental increases, changes to tenancy termination arrangements and minimum energy efficiency requirements; and (c) measures seeking to address pressures experienced by renters should consider both direct assistance and the effect of government policy settings on the cost and supply of rental housing; (3)]calls on the [put in: ACT]Government to: (a) [taken out: develop and implement][put in: investigate options to reduce the financial burden on ACT renters who are required to pay]a [put in: new rental bond while waiting for an existing rental bond to be returned, including, but not limited to: (i) a]portable [taken out: rental-bond][put in: rental bond]scheme; [put in: (ii) measures]to [taken out: allow renters][put in: accelerate the return of existing rental bonds where there is no outstanding claim or dispute; (iii) temporary or bridging arrangements]to [taken out: transfer][put in: address the period between paying of a new rental bond and return of]an existing rental bond; [taken out: from one tenancy][put in: (iv) changes]to, [taken out: another free][put in: or expansion]of, [taken out: charge, commencing by July 2028;][put in: the existing ACT Rental Bond Help arrangements;]and [put in: (v) other legislative, administrative or financial measures that would reduce the need for renters to finance two rental bonds at the same time; and](b) report back to the Assembly [put in: within nine months,]with [taken out: progress on]the [taken out: above on the second-last sitting day of February 2027, including an analysis][put in: report to include, for each option, assessment]of: (i) legislative, [taken out: and]policy, [taken out: change required to implement a portable rental- bond scheme;][put in: administrative]and [put in: ICT changes;](ii) [taken out: challenges][put in: costs, benefits, risks]and [taken out: opportunities][put in: potential unintended consequences; (iii) financial risk transferred]to [taken out: implementing an ICT system][put in: the Territory; (iv) treatment of disputed claims, outstanding tenant liabilities and any debts that may become owing by renters]to [taken out: support a portable rental-bond scheme.][put in: the Territory; (v) interactions with existing arrangements; (vi) evidence from initiatives operating in other jurisdictions; and (vii) implementation planning for the current term of the Legislative Assembly, including timeframes.]

   Compared word by word by computer, ignoring punctuation. It shows what differs, not which change made each difference; the steps above show that.