The Victorian government’s latest rental rule: blind anchors are now mandatory in all scenarios for the state’s residential tenancies.
A $6 piece of plastic from Bunnings, or free from the state government, is the latest mandatory requirement for Victorian landlords.
They’re risking a more than $12,000 fine if they don’t have it, and potentially the lives of young tenants with multiple Aussie kids killed since 2020 that could have survived if it had been installed.
As of this week, landlords who do not have curtain and blind cords secured so they cannot form a loop are breaching the state’s residential tenancy act’s minimum standards after the government closed a final loophole that had left exemptions in certain circumstances.
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The feature is typically a small plastic guide screwed into the window frame that costs about $6 at Bunnings — or can be ordered for free via Consumer Affairs Victoria’s website.
Their use has been required for most rental homes since 2024, and has featured in national product safety laws since 2015, but the update to Victoria’s rental regulations means that older installations that had been exempt are now obliged to be updated.
It is intended that securing blind and curtain cords will stop loops forming and save lives.
In Victoria, three-year-old Lincoln Shearer was killed after becoming tangled in a loose-hanging blind cord in 2020.
His grandmother subsequently became an advocate for better regulation over blind cords.
But there have been multiple fatalities for young Australians around the country since, including in the Northern Territory and Queensland,
Blind cords must now be secured in every Victorian rental home so that they cannot form a loop.
The last incident reported in NSW was in 2014, while South Australia hasn’t reported one since 2008.
As of December 1, Victorian tenants can request urgent repairs where blind cords are not secured — and have the right to install them without their landlord’s consent if not already present.
It is also now against the law for a landlord to allow a tenant to move into a home without the feature.
Fines for breaching rental minimum standards in Victoria range from $12,210.60 for individuals and $61,053 for companies.
Consumer Affairs minister Nick Staikos said “the safety of children is non-negotiable”.
“This will save lives and is an important reminder to rental providers to ensure looped cords in every room meet mandatory standards,” Mr Staikos said.
Victorian Consumer Affairs minister Nick Staikos says children’s safety is “non-negotiable” in the state’s rental market. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele.
Kidsafe Victoria chief executive Sarah Sexton said the organisation was “incredibly grateful” to everyone who had helped champion the reform “so that no other family has to experience the heartbreak of losing a child from such a preventable injury”.
The December 1 changes also include it becoming mandatory for operators of rooming houses to provide a heater fixed to the wall, roof or floor of every bedroom.
Last week, Victorian landlords were banned from issuing no-fault evictions, unless they are planning to sell or renovate the home, as well as accepting rental bids above the advertised lease price of their property.
Under the November 25 changes, tenants were also granted an extension on notice periods for rental increases to 90 days, as well as for certain notices requiring they vacate the home.
That update also requires any home advertised for rent to be fully compliant with minimum standards, and any tenancy signed since March 29, 2021, is now subject to mandatory annual smoke alarm checks.
They are the latest in a series of 150 rental reforms in Victoria since 2017.
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