I am looking at winding-up my property rental in the UK. Has not been a great landlord but would probably write me a reference. In Southern England mass immigration has made it a letter's market, with demands for hefty deposits and even alternative guarantors if not in proven, well-paid employment.

How important are references when arriving as a foreigner and looking to rent an apartment in a place like Gold Coast or Brisbane? Does it vary between letting agencies and approaching the landlord direct? Do they just read the introductory note or actually contact the former landlord in Britain?

I'm looking at a monthly serviced apartment initially which, I presume, is like a hotel in not requiring references. However I understand things get tricky applying to rent a furnished flat or modest house longer-term. I am single.

I can provide a couple of British landlord references going back 20 years, plus bank statements in UK and Australia showing funds. What sort of downpayment is expected in terms of deposit and months down? Can it be easier to rent well out-of-town and drive in, rather than live in the residential suburbs?

Thank you kindly for any advice.

Ours was asked for. We had rented for a while after selling our house. The agent didn't contact them, although I had given an e mail address, but they did contact other references in Australia.

I have rented a lot and to be honest they only care about two things here in Perth. Do you have money in the bank and do you have a job. Everytime they call my employer but not my previous land lords.
Good luck!

Overall Australia is a landlord's paradise and you have to jump through hoops during the rental process.

Though I don't quite get the whole "references" thing. I mean someone could just give a friend's details and have them say what great tennants they had...

I am in WA. I did not provide referees - as dave99 indicated, it only seemed to me that they cared about whether I could pay and that I wasn't a criminal (I did include police checks in my application, but that was my doing, not a request from them).

When we came back to Melbourne in 2012, I provided: 1. Photocopy of passport; 2. Photocopy of driver's licence; 3. Copy of work contract stating salary, etc.; 4. Bank details; 5. Copy of reference from our rental agency in NZ (I don't think they were contacted however).

I did have copies of all of the above made up, and with me when I viewed. This meant that I could hand these to the agent straightaway, and made the difference between getting the property and not getting the property.