About RentWise Victoria
A free, independent tool to help Victorian tenants understand a rent increase — built in the public interest by one person, with no commercial motive.
What RentWise does
When you receive a rent increase notice, it can be hard to know what to make of it. Is it in line with what others in your area are paying? How does it compare to cost-of-living changes? And what can you actually do about it?
RentWise gives you two objective, publicly published benchmarks to put your increase in context: the Melbourne Consumer Price Index (CPI), published quarterly by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and the suburb median rent for your area and property type, published quarterly by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH). It also explains what the official assessment process considers and how to access it — for free.
That is the full scope of what RentWise does. It is an orientation and literacy tool — nothing more, nothing less.
Our stance
RentWise never tells you whether your rent increase is reasonable or unreasonable. It does not issue verdicts. Deciding whether to challenge an increase — and how — is your decision to make, with the support of the free official services that exist for exactly that purpose.
What RentWise does aim to do is give you enough information to walk into that process with your eyes open — to understand what the numbers mean, what assessors actually weigh up, and what your options are. Knowledge is not a verdict; it is a starting point.
We built this with particular care for people who are least likely to know these processes exist: tenants who are elderly, new to the country, renting for the first time, or simply overwhelmed. The goal is plain language, not jargon.
Who built it
Tom Bassingthwaighte — Founder
Tom has a background spanning real estate and customer operations. It was during his time working in real estate that he became genuinely passionate about demystifying processes that can feel opaque and intimidating to the people going through them — and about making sure those people have access to the same understanding as the professionals on the other side of the table. RentWise is that same instinct applied to renters facing a rent increase: one person deciding that a confusing process should be a lot clearer, and building something to help.
RentWise is an independent project. Tom is not affiliated with Consumer Affairs Victoria, DFFH, Tenants Victoria, or any real estate body, landlord group, or commercial interest.
Independence and data
- Official open data only. Every figure shown comes from a publicly published government source — ABS and DFFH — cited with its source quarter. No figures are estimated or interpolated.
- No personal data collected. Nothing you enter into this tool is transmitted or stored anywhere. All calculations happen entirely in your browser. There are no cookies, no analytics, and no tracking of any kind.
- No commercial interest. RentWise is free. It does not accept advertising, referral fees, or any commercial arrangements. It is not funded by a landlord body, a real estate agency, or a legal services firm.
- Not affiliated with government. RentWise is an independent tool. It is not a Consumer Affairs Victoria service, does not speak for any government body, and is not endorsed by any official organisation.
General information — not legal advice
RentWise provides general information about the rent increase process in Victoria. It cannot tell you whether your specific increase is lawful or excessive, and nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice about your situation.
If you need help with your specific tenancy, the free services on our Get help page can provide authoritative, personalised guidance — including Tenants Victoria and Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Get in touch
For any of the following, you're welcome to reach out at contact@rentwisevic.org:
- Feedback & data corrections Spotted something wrong, out of date, or unclear? Please let us know. Data accuracy matters and we take corrections seriously.
- Partnership & collaboration If you work for a tenant organisation, community legal centre, or similar and think there's a way to work together in the interests of renters, we'd like to hear from you.
- Media enquiries Journalists and researchers are welcome to get in touch. Please include your publication or organisation and your deadline.
Enquiries are read by Tom personally. Response times vary. Commercial solicitations and requests for personal tenancy advice will not receive a reply — please use the Get help page for tenancy questions.
Last updated: 28 August 2026