What Does a Leasing Consultant Do? Pay, Licensing, How to Start

If you want a way into real estate that doesn't start with cold-calling vendors, leasing is it. A leasing consultant finds the right tenant for a rental home, fast, and does it fairly and legally. It's busy, people-heavy work, and in a tight rental market it's one of the most in-demand entry roles in Australian property.

It's also the job I'd recommend to almost anyone who asks me how to get into property. Here's what it involves.

What a leasing consultant actually does

The property manager looks after a tenancy for years; the leasing consultant fills the vacancy, quickly and with the right people. In small agencies that's often one person. In big rent rolls and build-to-rent towers, leasing is its own team.

A typical week looks something like this:

• Listing rentals. Writing ads, booking photos and publishing to the portals.
• Running open inspections. Often several a day, plus private viewings.
• Handling enquiries. Calls, emails, portal messages and texts, all day long.
• Processing applications. Checking ID, income and rental history, calling references, and searching tenancy databases.
• Presenting to landlords. Recommending the best applicant and explaining why.
• Signing up tenants. Preparing the lease, collecting and lodging the bond, and doing the ingoing condition report and key handover.
• Advising on rent. Comparing similar rentals so landlords price their property realistically.

It sounds simple, but it's full of judgement calls. You're dealing with someone's biggest asset on one side and someone's home on the other.

The rules matter more than ever

Rental law has changed a lot in the past few years, and a good leasing consultant knows it cold. Rent bidding has been banned in several states, including NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Anti-discrimination law applies to every application you assess. Privacy rules govern how you collect and store applicants' documents. Get this wrong and it's the agency's licence on the line, which is why employers value people who are careful as much as people who are quick.

Skills that make a great leasing consultant

• Organisation. Juggling 20 listings and a pile of applications is normal.
• Warmth and patience. Renters are often stressed, and you'll explain the same rules a hundred times. Kindness builds an agency's reputation.
• Sales instincts. You're matching people to homes and convincing landlords to take your advice on price.
• Tech comfort. Property management software, tenancy databases, e-signing and online application platforms are the daily toolkit.

On tech: this is a job where AI genuinely helps. Tools like Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT can draft listing copy, write polite replies to common questions and summarise a stack of applications. They don't replace judgement, and they must never be used to filter people in a way that discriminates. But used well, they give you back hours every week to spend with people.

Licensing and qualifications in Australia and New Zealand

Leasing is regulated in Australia and the rules vary by state, but entry needs short courses, not a degree.

• NSW. You start as an assistant agent with a certificate of registration. That needs five core units from the Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice (CPP41419), and you must work for a licence holder under a class 1 licensee. The certificate lasts four years and can't be renewed, so you need to step up to a class 2 licence within that time.
• Victoria. You work as an agent's representative. New starters need 18 units of the CPP41419, including the property management units, completed within the last five years. Consumer Affairs Victoria is phasing in new registration and annual training rules, so check the latest requirements.
• Queensland. You register as a real estate salesperson, which needs 12 units from the CPP41419, including two property management units (establishing landlord relationships and managing tenancy). It lets you do sales and property management work as an employee of a licensed agent.
• Other states and territories. WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT each have their own registration rules. Check your state regulator before you apply.
• New Zealand. Residential property management isn't licensed yet. In March 2026 the government announced a light-touch registration scheme for residential property managers, with minimum education or experience requirements and a public register. The bill still has to go through Parliament, so it's smart to get some training now.

What leasing consultants earn

Pay is usually a base salary, and some roles add commission or bonuses per lease. Real numbers from November 2026:

• SEEK puts the average advertised salary for leasing consultant roles at $90,000 in Perth (and across regional WA) and $77,500 in Brisbane.
• Sydney recruitment ads on SEEK this month include roles in the Eastern Suburbs at up to $80,000 plus commission.
• In New Zealand, SEEK's average advertised property manager salaries include $78,750 in Auckland Central and $90,000 in Wellington Central, a useful guide to where leasing work can lead.

Those are full-time advertised salaries, and some include super. Prestige, commercial and build-to-rent roles can pay more.

Where the job can take you

Leasing is a launchpad. From here, people commonly move into:

• Property manager, then senior or portfolio property manager.
• Head of property management, running a whole rent roll.
• Property management BDM, winning new landlords for the agency.
• Sales, because leasing teaches you appraisals, negotiating and how to read a suburb.
• Build-to-rent, as leasing manager, community manager or operations manager.
• Commercial leasing, if you prefer offices, shops and warehouses.

Build-to-rent is the one I'm most excited about. Big operators like Greystar are advertising leasing roles on SEEK right now, and as institutional landlords build more rental towers, there will be plenty more.

How to get started

1. Pick your state and do the entry course. It can take weeks, not years, and many providers run it online.
2. Apply for leasing, property officer or assistant property manager roles. Agencies are often happy to train someone with the right attitude.
3. Bring customer service experience. Hospitality, retail and call centres all count. Say so on your CV.
4. Learn the tenancy laws in your state. Reading your state's renting rules before an interview makes you stand out. And keep your driver's licence current, since most roles involve driving between inspections.

Leasing is honest, practical work that puts people into homes and teaches you property from the ground up. In today's rental market, good leasing people are never short of work.

Ready to start? Browse leasing and property management jobs across Australia and New Zealand.

Sources: NSW Government, Assistant agent certificate of registration; Consumer Affairs Victoria, Agents' representatives; Queensland Government, Register as a real estate salesperson; Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (NZ), Regulation of residential property managers (updated 24 Mar 2026); SEEK, Leasing Consultant salary (Nov 2026); SEEK NZ, Property Manager salary (Nov 2026).