How to Serve a Termination Notice in NSW: Service Methods, Postal Days and Proof

A perfectly drafted termination notice with the right ground, the right evidence, and the right vacate date can still fail at NCAT if it was not served lawfully. Section 223 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 lists the permitted delivery methods. A method outside that list can make service defective; actual receipt alone does not make it a permitted method, although section 113 allows NCAT to make an order despite a service defect only if it considers that appropriate and is satisfied the tenant suffered no disadvantage or any disadvantage has been overcome.

The Five Lawful Service Methods

1. Hand delivery to the tenant — handing the notice directly to the tenant named on the lease. The fastest and most certain method. Day 0 is the date of delivery.

2. Delivery to an adult at the premises — handing the notice to a person aged 16 or older at the tenant's residential or business address. Useful when the tenant is not home but another adult is there.

3. Letterbox delivery — placing the notice in an envelope addressed to the tenant in their letterbox at a residential or business address. Day 0 is the date you place it in the letterbox.

4. Australia Post — sending the notice by ordinary or registered mail to the tenant's specified address for receiving notices, or, if none is specified, their last known residential or business address. This triggers the 7-working-day postal delivery buffer before the notice period starts.

5. Email — only if the tenant has consented to service by email and specified that address for receiving notices or documents of that kind. Use the address the tenant designated; ordinary email correspondence alone does not establish consent to serve formal notices.

What Does Not Count as Lawful Service

• SMS or text message — not lawful service under section 223
• WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or any messaging app — not lawful service, even if the tenant replies acknowledging receipt
• Leaving it on the doorstep or under the door — not one of the specified methods
• Handing it to a child under 16 — does not count as delivery to an adult

These are not permitted service methods under section 223. A notice served this way is defective and NCAT may refuse to make an order. Section 113 allows an order despite a service defect only if NCAT considers that appropriate and is satisfied the tenant suffered no disadvantage or any disadvantage has been overcome.

The 7-Working-Day Postal Buffer

When serving by post, the notice period does not start on the day you post the letter. Section 223 requires adding 7 working days for postal delivery. Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and NSW public holidays.

Worked example — 14-day arrears notice posted on Friday 3 October 2025:

Monday 6 October 2025 was the NSW Labour Day public holiday, so it is not counted as a working day. The postal buffer turns a 14-day notice into roughly 25 calendar days. For a 90-day notice sent by post, the total elapsed time from posting to the earliest vacate date is approximately 100 calendar days.

Building a Proof of Service Record

When the landlord applies to NCAT for a possession order, the Tribunal requires proof that the notice was properly served. The burden is on the landlord. A service log should document:

• Hand delivery: Date, time, address, and the full name of the person who received it
• Letterbox delivery: Date, time, and confirmation the envelope was sealed and addressed
• Post: The Australia Post tracking receipt (registered mail) or a record of posting date and address. Registered post provides a delivery confirmation — ordinary mail does not, so registered is significantly stronger for NCAT purposes
• Email: A copy of the sent email showing the date, timestamp, recipient address, and attachments, plus a copy of the tenancy agreement or other record showing consent and the specified email address

Keep a complete copy of everything that was served — the notice itself, the Termination Information Statement, and all attached evidence documents. NCAT will want to see exactly what the tenant received.

Joint Tenancies

Where multiple tenants are named on a lease, serving the notice on any one co-tenant satisfies the statutory service requirement under the Act. You do not need to serve each tenant individually — though serving all of them removes any argument that a co-tenant was unaware.

The Service Log Template

The Ending a Tenancy in NSW guide includes a printable service log for recording delivery details, plus a service date calculator that accounts for the postal working-day buffer and NSW public holidays.

See more New South Wales guides →