Long Term Affordable and Social Housing

General maintenance

Taking care of your property is a shared responsibility between you, our renters, and Unison.

Unison, is responsible for repair and replacement of fixtures to your home. You are responsible for repairing any damage caused by wilful negligence or careless action by you, members of your household, pets and guests.

Reporting a Maintenance issue

If something in your home is damaged or broken please report it as soon as possible, by calling Unison's Maintenance Team on 1800 864 766 (1800 UNISON). Our team is here to assist 24/7.

Our maintenance team will do an assessment, and advise you of timelines and actions.

If there is an emergency at your property that presents an immediate risk to your safety or the safety of others – such as a fire, break in, gas leak, or if someone is hurt please call 000 for Police, Fire or Ambulance as required.

Urgent Repairs vs. Non-urgent Repairs

Urgent repairs are defined by the law. Anything else is a non-urgent repair. A repair is non-urgent if the renter can continue to safely live in the property. Non-urgent repairs include things like a broken dishwasher or loose bathroom tiles.

Urgent Repairs

Urgent Repairs are repairs that can affect safety or security and need to be fixed straight away.

Anything on this list is legally defined as an urgent repair:

A blocked or broken toilet system
A burst water service
A serious roof leak
A gas leak
A dangerous electrical fault
Flooding or serious flood damage
Serious storm or fire damage
An essential service or appliance for hot water, water, cooking, heating, or laundering is not working
The gas, electricity or water supply is not working
A cooling appliance or service provided by the rental provider is not working
The property does not meet minimum standards
A safety-related device, such as a smoke alarm, is not working
An appliance, fitting or fixture that is not working and causes a lot of water to be wasted
Any fault or damage in the property that makes it unsafe or insecure, including pests, mould or damp caused by or related to the building structure
A serious problem with a lift or staircase.

Renters must contact Unison's Maintenance Team straight away to ask for an urgent repair to be made. These repairs must be responded to within 24 hours.

For urgent repair or maintenance requests please call 1800 864 766 (1800 UNISON), 24/7.

Non-urgent Repairs

Non-urgent Repairs are repairs that are not a threat to safety or damaging to the property such as a broken cupboard. Any repair not listed above in the urgent repairs list is a non-urgent repair. The repairs must be resolved within 14 days.

Renters must tell the rental provider or property manager about any problems or damage as soon as they become aware of them.

For non-urgent repairs, please call 1800 864 766 (1800 UNISON). Alternatively, you can send us an email at maintenance@unison.org.au

How to minimise maintenance issues

We encourage all our tenants to follow these simple steps to minimise maintenance issues:

✔ Keep your fob/keys on you at all times when leaving your unit.

✔ Take care of your property (careful use and regular cleaning).

✔ Open doors and windows to allow airflow where possible.

✔ Use ovens in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.

✔ Use cook tops in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and with exhaust fans/rangehoods on.

✗ Don’t flush anything other than toilet paper down the toilet as this will cause blockages.

✗ Don’t tip oils or fats down the sink, these can cause blockages.

✗ Don’t overload power points (no connecting power boards together to create more sockets).

✗ Don’t leave appliances and lights on when not in use or needed.