What an RTA postcode median can and cannot tell you

You look up your postcode on the RTA's site and get a number: say A$850 a week for a two-bedroom flat. Your proposed rent is A$920. It's tempting to read the gap as proof that the increase is too high. The median doesn't prove that, but it is useful once you know what it measures.

What the RTA measures

Every Queensland bond is lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority. Each quarter the RTA takes the new bonds lodged, groups them by area and dwelling type, and publishes the median weekly rent. The workbook describes it as the median weekly rent paid for new tenancies starting in that quarter.

It's broken down by postcode, suburb, local government area and all of Queensland. Dwelling types are houses, townhouses and flats (the flat category covers units and apartments), split by number of bedrooms. A new quarter comes out roughly a month after it ends. The September quarter is published in October.

Median means the middle value. Line up every new two-bedroom flat tenancy in the postcode that quarter, from cheapest to dearest, and the median is the one in the middle. Half started higher and half started lower. It's different from an average, and the RTA doesn't present it as a recommended rent.

A real row, read carefully

For two-bedroom flats in postcode 4101 (South Brisbane, West End, Highgate Hill), the September quarter 2026 figures are:

So new two-bedroom flat tenancies in 4101 started at a median of A$850, up A$30 (3.7%) on the same quarter a year earlier. The workbook also publishes the number of new bonds lodged for that group in the quarter: 472, against 428 a year earlier. With that many new tenancies, the median isn't resting on a handful of homes. The RTA advises comparing year-on-year rather than quarter-on-quarter, because the mix of homes changing hands shifts with the seasons.

Source: © The State of Queensland (Residential Tenancies Authority) 2026, Bond statistics data, September quarter 2026, CC BY 4.0. Flat category, postcode 4101, two bedrooms; median rents and bonds lodged, September quarters 2025 and 2026, extracted. No RTA endorsement implied.

What it can tell you

• Roughly where your rent sits. If your proposed rent is well above the median for your postcode and type, it's a reasonable question to ask what makes your place different. If it's at or below, that's worth knowing before you push back.
• Direction over a year. Your rent going up 8% while the postcode median rose about 4% is a fair thing to mention. It doesn't settle anything.
• A starting point for your own comparables. It tells you what range to expect when you look at similar places nearby.

What it can't tell you

• What your home is worth. The median mixes renovated and tired, ground floor and penthouse, with parking and without. Two units in the same postcode can sit A$200 a week apart for good reasons.
• What existing tenants pay. Only new bonds count. People who've stayed put on older rents aren't in the figure, so in a rising market the median reflects what new tenants agree to, which is often more than long-standing tenants pay.
• Whether an increase is legal or excessive. Queensland has no cap on the size of an increase. If it goes to QCAT, the tribunal considers the range of market rents for comparable premises, the size of the increase, the state of repair, the length of the tenancy and the time since the last increase (s 92(5); s 71(6) for a new agreement). A postcode median feeds into the first of those, as background.
• Anything when the numbers are thin. Small groups of homes can swing a long way from quarter to quarter, and some cells are left blank. In the same workbook, two-bedroom townhouses in 4101 had 4 new bonds in the September quarter 2026 and no median shown.

How to quote it

State it as context, with its source and quarter, and leave the conclusion to the comparables:

The RTA's September quarter 2026 median for new two-bedroom flat tenancies in postcode 4101 was A$850 a week. The proposed A$920 is above that. Our unit is similar to the two nearby units I've listed below.

Avoid "the fair rent is A$850" or "the market says". The figure doesn't support either, and a property manager will know that. What makes a rental genuinely comparable? covers how to build the comparison that does the real work.

If your postcode or home type isn't there

Use the RTA's own median rents quick finder on the median rents page. If your exact postcode and dwelling type has no figure, don't borrow the next postcode or a different number of bedrooms. That's a different market.

The free Renewal Check shows the RTA median for 18 flat combinations in six inner-Brisbane postcodes (4000, 4005, 4006, 4064, 4101 and 4102). Anywhere else in Queensland, it still runs the full stay-ask-move cost comparison, just without a median. Your entries stay in your browser.

The QLD Rent Increase & Renewal Kit (A$29) explains what QCAT weighs, has an evidence worksheet for comparables and the median side by side, and includes letters for asking about a smaller increase.