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If you’re thinking of moving Down Under, you’ve probably wondered what the average rent per month in Australia is. Even if you’re planning to buy a home in Australia at some point, most of you will need to rent a home when you first arrive.
Rental prices vary enormously across the different regions and cities of Australia. This blog post will run through the median rent in each of the state capitals across Australia for houses, flats and rooms.
I will also give you the best real estate websites to find houses to rent, or to find a room in a share house. I’ll also touch on the current rental crisis in Australia, to make sure you’re informed.
Keep reading to learn more about the cost of rental properties in Australia.
Rental Costs in Australia: Table of Contents
- How is Rent Paid?
- Best Websites to Find Rentals
- Cost of Renting a House
- Cost of Renting a Flat
- Cost of Renting a Room
- Electricity Costs
- Gas Costs
- Australia’s Rental Crisis
- Free Rent by House Sitting
How is Rent Paid in Australia?
Something to note is that you normally pay rent weekly in Australia, rather than monthly. You may be paid weekly too! It’s very different to in the UK where everything is monthly.
When I lived in share houses, I paid rent directly to the landlord or tenant who I was subletting a room from. My bills were all included.
If you’re renting a property to yourself, you will usually take on a lease for a specific amount of time. It may be that you pay the landlord directly or pay via a property agent.
You will probably need to pay a bond (deposit) of 2-4 weeks rent before moving in and agree to the amount of notice you have to give when you want to move out.
The Best Real Estate Websites for Rental Homes in Australia
The best real estate websites for rental homes in Australia are domain.com.au and realestate.com.au. I personally use the latter, but they’re both very similar.
You just choose if you want to buy or rent, type in a city, suburb or even entire region, enter your criteria to narrow down the search, and the sites will bring up results.
Another option is flatmates.com.au. It’s mainly for those who want to find a room in a share house, but you can also rent entire properties on there.
I’ve lived in a couple of share houses in Sydney, and I found rooms straight away on that site. You just set up a profile and either look for a room to rent or a whole property.
The website does not get involved in the rent payments; it just connects tenants and landlords, or those looking to sublet.
You can also find other flat mates who are looking to live in the same area as you, if you want to team up and rent a house together.
Average Rent in Australia for a House
Here are the median rent prices for a house in each of Australia’s state capitals, using the April 2025 monthly snapshot from rent.com.au.
The most expensive state capital city in Australia to rent a house in in 2025 is Sydney, with a median weekly rent of $870.
The median rent per week in Canberra is $750, making it the second-most expensive city in Australia for rental houses.
Joint third are Darwin and Perth, with median rent of $680 per week.
The fourth-most expensive city to rent a house in is Brisbane, with median weekly rent of $650.
The median rent per week in Adelaide is $600, making it the fifth-most expensive city in Australia for rental houses.
The sixth-most expensive place to rent in Australia, for a house, is Melbourne, with median weekly rent of $599
Out of all the state capitals, the cheapest place to rent a house in Australia in 2025 is Hobart, with median weekly rent of $565!
Average Rent in Australia for a Unit (Apartment)
Next, I’ll run through the median monthly rents for flats in Australia using the April 2025 monthly snapshot from rent.com.au. Note that in Australia a flat or apartment is called a unit!
The most expensive Australian state capital to rent an apartment in is Sydney, with median weekly rent of $725.
The median weekly rent for a unit in Perth is $650, making it the second-most expensive city after Sydney.
Third-most expensive is Brisbane, with median weekly rent of $610 for a unit.
Canberra and Melbourne are the joint fourth-most expensive cities to rent a flat, with median rent of $560 per week.
Darwin is the fifth-most expensive place in terms of renting a unit, with median weekly rent of $550.
Adelaide is the second-cheapest city in Australia to rent a unit in, with median rent of $500 per week.
The cheapest state capital in Australia to rent an apartment in is Hobart, with median weekly rent of $480.
Average Cost to Rent a Room in a Share House in Australia
If you don’t want to spend too much on rent, or you just want to meet new people when you first move to Australia or to a new city, a room in a share house can be a good idea.
In the more expensive cities like Sydney, it’s actually quite common to live in share houses, even for older people. I’ve lived in a couple of share houses in Sydney, and they had people right up to their fifties living in them.
Here are the median weekly costs to rent a room in Australia’s major cities from the April 2025 monthly snapshot from rent.com.au.
Unsurprisingly, the most expensive Australian state capital to rent a room in is Sydney, with median weekly rent of $375.
The median weekly rent for a room in Canberra is $300, making it the second-most expensive city after Sydney.
The third-most expensive city is Melbourne, with median weekly rent of $265 for a room.
Darwin is the fourth-most expensive city to rent a room in, with median rent of $233 per week.
Fifth-most expensive is Brisbane, with median weekly rent of $230 for a room.
Perth is the fifth-most expensive city in Australia in terms of renting a room, with median weekly rent of $227.
Hobart is the second-cheapest city in Australia in terms of renting a room, with median weekly rent of $220.
The cheapest state capital in Australia to rent a room in is Adelaide, with median weekly rent of only $217.
Depending on which city want to live in, for an average sized room in a share house in Australia, you can expect to pay between $250 to $400 per week. Obviously, there may be cheaper areas outside of the major cities, and I’ve found that a lot of the share houses included bills in the rent.
How Much Does Electricity Cost in Australia?
In terms of household bills in Australia, if you’re renting a whole property to yourself, note that it is standard for your landlord to pay the council tax. This is different from in the UK, where the tenant has to pay it.
I’ve also found that in a lot of properties, the landlord pays the water bill as well. That may just be in apartments though.
Also note that Australia doesn’t have gas central heating inside homes like many colder countries do, so if you’ve got an electric oven and cooker top, you may not have a gas supply at all.
Here are some average figures for electricity bills across Australia, from a report by Canstar Blue from December 2024. The results are from a survey of over 4,400 households of all sizes.
The average electricity bill per quarter in the ACT was $546.
In South Australia, the average electricity bill was $535 a quarter.
People in New South Wales paid $501, on average, for their quarterly gas bill.
Queensland residents paid $481 a quarter on average for electricity.
Victorians had average electricity bills of $391 a quarter.
Residents of Tasmania had average electricity bills of $315 a quarter.
How Much is the Average Gas Bill in Australia?
Here are some figures for average household gas bills across Australia, from a report from Canstar Blue in December 2024. This is based on households of all sizes, and it’s the quarterly gas bill.
The average quarterly gas bill in South Australia was $223, and in the ACT, $185.
Residents of Victoria paid $180 per quarter for gas, on average, while residents of New South Wales paid $176.
In Queensland, the average quarterly gas bill was $170, and in Western Australia, $110.
Australia’s Rental Crisis
It’s important to be aware that Australia is currently experiencing a long-running rental crisis, where the supply of rental properties is not meeting demand. This has led to many people in Australia becoming homeless, even if they are working.
Learn more in this article by macrobusiness.com.au .
House Sitting in Australia (Rent-Free Living)
If you’re struggling to find rental accommodation, it might be worth considering house sitting, even if short term. I’ve been house and pet sitting for almost a decade in Australia and get paid to live in properties and look after people’s pets while they’re on holiday!
If you’re interested in house and pet sitting in Australia, head over to my house-sitting page to learn more. My guide on how to become a house sitter will walk you through the process.
Best House-Sitting Websites
If you want to start house sitting straight away, here are my recommended house-sitting web sites.
- Aussie House Sitters – Australia’s largest house-sitting website;
- Trusted House Sitters (click here for 20% off a new membership) – very popular house-sitting site with jobs in over 130 countries and lots of perks;
- MadPaws – paid pet sitting in Australia for locals.
I hope this post on the average cost of rent in Australia has been useful! If you’re undecided on where to live in Australia, have a browse through my city guides and comparisons.
To learn more about living in Australia, browse through all my articles on moving to Australia!
Discover more about Australian properties in my blog post on how Australian homes are different to homes in the UK!
Lisa Bull, founder of Dreaming of Down Under, has been living in Australia as a British expat since 2015. After travelling to every state and territory in Australia and living in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, Lisa knows from first-hand experience the best destinations to visit in Australia and the best budget travel tips. Her guides on this blog have been read by over 700k readers and helped thousands of people achieve their dream of living in or travelling Australia.
