SA Real Estate Inquiry Hears AI Rental Screening Is Shutting Out Vulnerable Tenants
Some prospective tenants in South Australia are being rejected by automated screening tools before they ever see a property, a state parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of real estate professionals has heard, realestate.com.au reported on October 23.
Flinders University associate professor Selina Tually told the inquiry that some agents use computer programs to assess rental applications based on information including income, family circumstances and cultural background. Applicants have been asked whether they identify as Aboriginal, whether they have children and where their income comes from, and the software then screens them out before they get the chance to inspect a home.
Inquiry chair and SA Greens MP Robert Simms called the evidence deeply concerning. He said South Australians already struggling to find somewhere affordable to live were now being knocked out of the running by a computer, questioned what relevance cultural background could have to someone's ability to rent, and pointed to single parents who may find that disclosing a child counts against them. Technology, he said, should make finding a home easier rather than add another barrier for people already doing it tough.
What it means in practice
The evidence shows how everyday automation can carry the same risks as headline AI systems. Screening rules that weigh family status or Aboriginality can repeat discrimination at scale, and applicants rarely learn why they were filtered out, which makes mistakes hard to challenge. Agents and platforms can expect questions about which data fields they collect, how scores are produced and whether a person reviews rejections. The concern echoes what workers told the federal AI inquiry about algorithmic rosters and automated warnings at work, and South Australia is already examining the technology's wider effects through its royal commission into artificial intelligence.
The real estate inquiry's remit is broader than AI. It is examining underquoting, inaccurate appraisals, non-disclosure of building faults, rent bidding and unreasonable rental inspection reports, and whether existing regulations, codes of practice and dispute resolution protect consumers. Real Estate Institute of SA chief executive Andrea Heading has said the institute supports evidence-based, balanced scrutiny, but that the inquiry should separate conduct needing regulatory action from systemic issues such as tribunal delays, consumer education, private landlord obligations and consistent enforcement of existing laws.
What to watch: whether the committee recommends limits on the questions rental platforms may ask, and whether screening software is brought under anti-discrimination and privacy oversight.