Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the show in 2019, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the shows executive producer Jason Herbison. Raymond Renshaw and Ivan Renshaw were introduced during the second week of January, followed by Vera Punt and Melissa Lohan. Claudia Watkins began appearing from March, with Roxy Willis arriving in April. Dean Mahoney and Vance Abernethy made their first appearances in May. June saw the introduction of Ebony Buttrose. Harlow Robinson made her debut in July, while Mackenzie Hargreaves began appearing from August. Scarlett Brady and Hendrix Greyson arrived in September, along with Prudence Wallace and Graham Isheev. Mackenzie's father Grant Hargreaves was introduced in October. Kane Jones made his first appearance during the following month.

Raymond and Ivan Renshaw

Raymond Renshaw, played by Frank Magree, and Ivan Renshaw, played by Michael Shanahan, made their first appearances on 11 January 2019. The Renshaws are a Sydney crime family. They have been mentioned several times since the arrival of Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) in 2016, who reported Ivan and Raymond's money laundering to the police. Raymond's daughter Delaney Renshaw (Ella Newton) was introduced in December 2018. Conor McMullan of Digital Spy commented, "We tipped Neighbours Renshaw family storyline as one of the loose ends that the show needed to tie up earlier this year, and as 2018 draws to a close, they may be doing just that."

In late December, it was confirmed that Ivan and Raymond would be central to "a shock siege" storyline, as they come to Erinsborough to get revenge on Leo for his part in sending them to prison. Ivan tracks Leo down at The Waterhole and shoots at him, but Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou) takes the bullet instead. In the aftermath, Raymond is ushered into Harold Cafe as he tries to leave the complex, and he holds everyone hostage at gunpoint. During his piece about Neighbours channelling the work of filmmaker David Lynch, John Allison of The Guardian wrote about Raymond: "Let's not put too fine a point on this: he was dressed like Evil Cooper from Twin Peaks: The Return. That leather jacket! The hair! Even the shoes! Within 10 minutes of his appearance, he had ordered the execution of Robinson scion Leo Tanaka. And, to underscore the point, every evil pronouncement was accompanied by an atonal orchestral sting straight out of Twin Peaks notorious atomic bomb sequence."

When Delaney Renshaw returns to her hotel room, she finds Raymond and Ivan waiting for her, following their release from prison. Ivan leaves the room while Raymond talks with Delaney and learns that she came to Erinsborough to see Leo Tanaka, as she fell in love with him while he was working at Raymond's club in Sydney. She then tells him that Leo was the one who went to the police about his money laundering, not Mannix. Raymond and Ivan decide to shoot Leo, and Raymond tells Ivan to get Leo alone so there are no witnesses. Ivan finds Leo in The Waterhole and fires the gun, but Terese Willis jumps in front of Leo taking the bullet. Ivan flees the scene and calls Raymond to tell him what happened. Raymond leaves Delaney and comes down to the complex, where he spots Leo and the police. He enters Harold's Café and the customers assume he is just a hotel guest. Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor) and Ned Willis (Ben Hall) find Ivan on Power Road trying to break into a car. Mark confronts him and Ned tackles him to the ground.

Raymond tries to leave the café, but Elly Conway (Jodi Anasta) tells him to stay put as the police are continuing to sweep the area for Ivan's partner. She later tells him that he can go, but he notices that she does not tell anyone else and realises that she knows the police are looking for him. He pulls out his gun and orders Elly to collect all the phones, Yashvi Rebecchi (Olivia Junkeer) to lock the door and Chloe Brennan (April Rose Pengilly) to barricade it. He then hears Kirsha Rebecchi (Vani Dhir) on the phone to the police. He orders everyone to get on the ground, and asks the police to get him a van. Elly convinces him that he cannot take all the hostages with him, and he eventually lets an older couple and the children go. She tells him to just take her with him, but Chloe argues that he should take her instead. Raymond fires the gun at the ceiling and tells them to shut up. Leo comes to the café and Raymond lets him inside, where he confronts his role in sending him and Ivan to prison. Leo asks him to think about Delaney, but Raymond refuses to listen and raises his gun to shoot just as the police come inside and tackle him to the ground. Raymond is arrested and is later shown handcuffed in the police station.

Vera Punt

Vera Punt played by Sally-Anne Upton, made her first appearance on 23 January 2019. Upton's management confirmed her casting in the recurring guest role on 14 January 2019. Vera is the sister of Valerie Grundy (Patti Newton), who dies during the previous month. Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy reported that Vera arrives on Ramsay Street to retrieve her sister's dog Regina Grundy (Timba). He added that Vera takes Regina and this causes an argument with her new owners David Tanaka (Takaya Honda) and Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson), who threaten legal action.

Of her character, Upton commented, "She just says it how it is. Shows like Neighbours need characters like Mrs Punt who have got a bit of an edge and unpredictability about them." Upton thought Vera would get along with her Wentworth character Juicy Lucy, saying they both "Aussie Larrikin" types. Joanne Hawkins of realestate.com.au said Vera has been described as being "so despicable, you can't help but love her." Laura Masia of TV Week called her "the town whinger". Ahead of her guest stint in early 2021, Upton worked as the show's COVID-19 nurse and she called it "one of the most important roles of my life". She was also grateful that the producers wrote new storylines for her character as a thank you. Vera appears in the final episode of Neighbours and Upton said of filming the finale, "It feels wonderful to be back on Ramsay Street. Sad at the same time, but it's part of history finishing and I'm just glad to be a part of it." Vera debuted in the show's opening titles in April 2025.

Aaron Brennan and David Tanaka spot Vera with Regina in Ramsay Street and ask her where she found their dog, but Vera tells them that Regina belongs to her. David and Aaron explain that they have been looking after Regina since Vera's sister died. When she refuses to give the dog back, David calls her a dognapper. Aaron later talks with Vera about how he and David have fallen in love with Regina, and he offers to buy her. Vera tells him that Regina was bequeathed to her, and if he wants Regina then they will have to go through a judge. David and Aaron eventually decide to let Regina go with Vera, who presents them with a vets bill before leaving for Bendigo. Vera later meets with Melissa Lohan (Jacqui Purvis) about selling Valerie's house. She then walks through the Lassiter's complex where Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) is vandalising a Valentine's Day display. He throws a large floral display which hits Vera and knocks her to the ground. Leo's family see that she is okay and ask her not to call the police. Sheila Canning (Colette Mann) talks with Vera and asks her not to sue Leo. She mentions that his father Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) is actually the one with the money, and implies the accident could have happened to anyone with all the decorations hanging up, so Vera sues Lassiters. Vera comes to Lassiters to hear a public apology from Leo, but he gets into an argument with Paul and Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou), causing Vera to leave.

Vera later expresses her disgust when Roxy Willis (Zima Anderson) strips off while she rides a mechanical bull on grounds of the Lassiters complex. Vera attends a charity bachelor auction at The Waterhole and buys Aaron for $275. Just over a year later, she watches a live stream of David performing at a lip-sync contest. She then interrupts a conversation between the Rebecchis to let them know they are missing a great performance from David and Mackenzie Hargreaves (Georgie Stone). While walking through the Lassiters Complex, Vera trips over some Easter decorations, injuring her ankle. David and Terese send her to Erinsborough Hospital, where she refuses to be treated by Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), who was recently accused of assault, so David takes over. Vera's nephew Curtis Perkins (Nathan Borg) later comes to visit her. As Karl is watering his front yard, he notices dog faeces on his grass and accuses Vera of allowing Regina to defecate on his lawn, before accidentally spraying her with his hose. Vera is enraged and storms off. Karl later finds a pile of manure on his lawn and accuses Vera of putting it there in retaliation for getting sprayed. Karl collects all of the manure in a wheelbarrow and goes over to Vera's house, where she is mowing her grass. Vera denies his accusations and in an attempt to stop him from dumping the manure on the grass, Vera grabs some and throws it at Karl, but hits Paul instead. Paul and Karl team up and order a truckload of manure to be dumped on Vera's front yard. As the truck is about to pour the manure over, Melanie Pearson (Lucinda Cowden) reveals that she was responsible for the first lot of manure, after initially sending it to Angela Lane (Amanda Harrison), who then dumped it on Karl's lawn.

Vera attends Melanie's Christmas party psychic booth and asks her to speak with Valerie. Vera later expresses that she is a victim of a contagious itch that has been spreading through the community. At Leo's winery ladies' lunch, Vera tells Jane Harris (Annie Jones) she would not live long enough to store wine barrels for twenty years. Jane's daughter, Nicolette Stone (Charlotte Chimes), says that she would be surprised and disappointed if Vera had twenty years left, then Vera scares off Melanie by saying she has aging bones. Vera talks about Terese's alcoholism relapse and Harlow Robinson (Jemma Donovan) says that Vera's opinion does not matter. Vera begins criticising everyone at the table, so Nicolette throws a glass of water over her face. Vera then declares she is never setting foot into the winery again. Vera attends a Ramsay Street party with her nephew a months later, where Vera speaks with her neighbours and befriends Angie Rebecchi (Lesley Baker).