Young renter is stunned after being told to take down the Australian flag at her property: 'I don't understand'

Published: 00:40, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 00:49, 8 June 2026 A woman has shared her shock after being ordered to take down the Australian flag from her home during a routine rental inspection. Breeanah O'Brien, who lives in the Hawkesbury region in Sydney's northwest, said the property agent told her the flag had to be removed during a recent inspection in case the house became a 'target'.  'Since when has it become illegal to have an Australian flag up in Australia?' Ms O'Brien said in her video. 'This morning, we had a routine house inspection and the first thing that was said when she got to the front door is, "I'm gonna have to take this Australian flag down before I can start the inspection".' 'Obviously she proceeded to tell me that she doesn't have an issue with it… but the owner believes by having it up, our house might become a target.' Ms O'Brien said the flag, which had been hanging on the top of the front window since Australia Day, had been seen by the agent during a previous inspection, with no issues mentioned. 'All I could think in the back of my head was, "I could almost guarantee, if that was a rainbow flag for Pride Month or if it was a Palestinian flag, there is no way we'd be asked to take it down" and there is no way that she would be getting up there herself to take it down,' she said. 'I just don't understand how that's not allowed and that automatically means that we've got a target on our backs but if we had another flag up, we would be cheered and, "Oh my goodness, it's so good that you guys are doing that".' View this post on Instagram Breeanah O'Brien sparked fierce online debate after posting a video explaining the incident Her comments sparked outrage among her followers, with many calling the agent's actions 'ridiculous'. 'This is so disappointing. Our neighbour has a memorial for veterans with an Australian flag flying on his front lawn,' one wrote. 'You should not be a target to have pride in our nation.' 'Disgusting, I wouldn’t have taken it down!' a second commented. 'Change houses if need be we are in a beautiful country and be proud. If we cannot express ourselves freedom of speech then they have the problem!' Another added: 'I'd hang a bigger one and play the anthem five times a day.'  However, others questioned Ms O'Brien's views about different communities and their flags.  'I’m not sure how you came to the conclusion that LGBTQ+ or Palestinian flags wouldn’t be met with complaints to take them down, because that simply is not true at all,' a person commented. Ms O'Brien had been hanging the Australian flag from her front windowsill since Australia Day (stock image) 'Both communities regularly face prejudice, discrimination, and hostility, especially here in Australia.  'The hypothetical scenario you’ve created doesn’t reflect reality at all. It seems more like a reflection of your own biases.' 'Guess it depends on where you live,' another said. 'In Cronulla and surrounding areas I was not allowed to put my flag up of ethnic origin growing up. Only the Australian flag allowed.' Daily Mail has contacted Ms O'Brien for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.