Thankyou everyone, it's wonderful to have support when you feel the world's out to get you.
There is a clause in our residential tenancy agreements that gives the landlord power to evict you for "no reason".
It does appear we "aussies" are unique, I was talking to someone from Canada the other day, and he was also shocked that we have such a clause.
CONTINUING AGREEMENT: ?NO GROUNDS?
TERMINATION
If you are on a continuing agreement, the landlord can end the
agreement by giving a 60-day written termination notice
without a reason. However, you can argue in the Tribunal
that you should be allowed to stay because of your special
circumstances e.g. ill health, but this can be difficult to argue.
It is a very long story and goes back a few years and there are other issues and special circumstances due to the historical background of the house. If they persist with the termination notice it could be before the tribunal for some time, but at the moment we are just going for a decision on repairs.