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Short-term rental laws in Australia: what actually differs by state

Sergej Sitki

Sergej Sitki · founder of ReceptionGO and host
Published 27 October 2026 · 8 min read

General information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Check your own case with your council, the ATO or the state revenue office, or an accountant. Rates and dates below were checked on the date shown — recheck the linked official page before you lodge, register or set a price from them.

There is no single Australian short-term rental law. NSW and Western Australia require a state register. Victoria charges a 7.5% short stay levy from 1 January 2025. Queensland leaves most of it to councils. South Australia was still consulting on a register in October 2026. The ACT levies platform bookings. Tasmania regulates through planning permits, not a levy that is in force.

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Ask an operator in Byron, a motel owner in Mildura and a holiday-park manager on the Sunshine Coast what “the rules” are, and you will get three different answers. Australia never passed one national short-stay Act. Each state decided what it was worried about — housing in Sydney, a revenue line in Victoria, data in Perth — and wrote that down. This page is the map. The detail lives in the state guides linked from it.

The comparison that matters before you list

State or territoryRegisterNight limitLevy
NSWYes. STRA register. $65 for the first year, $25 to renewNon-hosted: 180 days in Greater Sydney (not the Central Coast) and named regional areas; 60 days in most of Byron Shire; 365 elsewhere. Hosted: no capNo state levy
VictoriaLevy registration only if you take bookings off-platformNo state cap7.5% from 1 January 2025 on stays under 28 days
QueenslandNo state register. Noosa has its own local-law approvalNo state cap. Local planning can still stop the useNo state levy
Western AustraliaYes, before you advertise. Number on every adNo cap. Perth metro unhosted stays over 90 nights in the registration year need development approvalNo state levy
South AustraliaNot in force. Consultation closed 30 October 2026No state capNo state levy
TasmaniaNo host register. Platforms collect permit or exemption details under the 2019 ActNo state cap. A planning permit is the usual gate for a whole homeNot in force. Recheck Parliament before you assume a levy is dead
ACTPlatforms register for the levy, not each hostNo night cap5% of platform bookings made from 1 July 2025; 7.5% from 1 July 2027. Direct bookings with the owner or occupier are not levied
Northern TerritoryNo scheme equivalent to NSW or WA, as at this checkNo state cap we could findNo state levy we could find

Recheck every cell against the source before you pay a fee or quote a levy to a guest. The Northern Territory row is the thinnest: we did not find a statewide register or levy on an official page, and a Darwin council or a body corporate can still say no. Treat that cell as “look locally”, not as a green light.

Two questions, then the right guide

Is this a dwelling, or a commercial property?

The new rules were written for houses and apartments let for a few nights. A motel, a licensed holiday park, a hostel and many serviced-apartment buildings already sit in planning, building and sometimes liquor or caravan-park licensing. They are often excluded from the short-stay register or the levy, and included in something older. A farm stay in a converted shearers’ quarters, a glamping tent and a room in your own house can fall either side of the line. Read the definition in your state before you copy a city host’s checklist. GST follows a similar split, which is why the tax guide belongs next to this one.

Hosted or not?

In NSW a hosted stay — you are there — has no day cap. A non-hosted stay in Greater Sydney does. In WA, hosted short-term rental accommodation is exempt from planning approval across the state, and unhosted in the Perth metro area is not, once you pass 90 nights. In Victoria the levy has a principal-place-of-residence exclusion that is not the same test. Do not carry one state’s word “hosted” across the border.

1A house or apartment let for a fewnights?Not a motel, a licensed holiday park or a hostel,which usually sit in older rules.NoRead the definition in yourstate before you copy acity host’s checklist.Yes2Are you there while the guest is?Hosted and non-hosted are different tests indifferent states.YesNSW: no day cap. WA: noplanning approvalstatewide. Victoria’s levyhas its own home exclusion.NoNSW non-hosted in Greater Sydney: 180 days. WAunhosted in Perth metro: a DA after 90 nights.
1A house or apartment let for a fewnights?Not a motel, a licensed holiday park or ahostel, which usually sit in older rules.No →Read the definition in your statebefore you copy a city host’schecklist.Yes ↓2Are you there while the guest is?Hosted and non-hosted are different testsin different states.Yes →NSW: no day cap. WA: no planningapproval statewide. Victoria’slevy has its own home exclusion.No →NSW non-hosted in Greater Sydney:180 days. WA unhosted in Perthmetro: a DA after 90 nights.
The comparison in this guide. “Hosted” does not mean the same thing in NSW, WA and Victoria.

Where to read on

Strata can ban what planning allows, or the other way around. That argument is in strata by-laws and short-term letting. If the property is in a city with its own season, start with Sydney, Melbourne or the Gold Coast after the state page, not instead of it.

What every state still expects

Registration does not replace the boring safety work. Smoke alarms, a pool barrier, a contact who will answer the phone, and an insurance policy that knows you take paying guests show up in NSW fire standards, in Noosa’s local law, in strata by-laws and in claim forms. The practical list is in fire safety, pools and insurance.

Platforms already tell government a lot. NSW and WA pull booking nights from Airbnb, Booking.com and Stayz into the register. The ATO’s sharing-economy reports cover short-term accommodation income. A direct booking is the one that does not appear unless you type it in — into the WA register, and into a Victorian levy return if you are the one who took the money. That is an operations problem as much as a legal one: if the nights live in five calendars, the cap and the return will be wrong. A single calendar is how you count them.

From our own practiceThe family property is in Slovenia, so we do not pretend to hold an NSW registration number. What transfers is the shape of the job. The form is short. The weekend disappears in certificates, a count of nights, and a listing that still shows last year’s occupancy. Have those three before you open the portal.
Recheck before you publish or lodge. This comparison was read off the official pages on 22 October 2026. South Australia’s register was still a consultation. Tasmania’s proposed levy was not an Act we could cite as in force. The ACT rate changes on 1 July 2027. If a figure in the table will hit a guest or a BAS, open the source again.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one short-term rental licence for all of Australia?

No. Planning, fair trading, levies and strata are state matters. A registration number from NSW does not cover a property in Victoria or Western Australia. Hotels, motels and caravan parks are often outside the short-stay schemes aimed at houses and apartments, and inside their own approval and rating rules instead.

Which states have a night cap?

NSW caps non-hosted short-term rental accommodation in Greater Sydney (not the Central Coast), Ballina, parts of Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook at 180 days, and most of Byron Shire at 60 days from 23 September 2024. Western Australia does not cap nights: in the Perth metro area, unhosted accommodation over 90 nights in the registration year needs development approval. Other states do not have a statewide night cap of that kind.

Which states charge a levy on short stays?

Victoria charges 7.5% of the booking fee on stays under 28 days, from 1 January 2025, with important exclusions. The ACT charges booking platforms 5% on bookings made from 1 July 2025, rising to 7.5% from 1 July 2027. A Tasmanian levy had been proposed; it was not in force when we checked. NSW, Queensland, WA and SA do not have a statewide guest levy of this type.

Do hotels, motels and caravan parks have to register?

Often no, but read the definition. NSW excludes some traditional tourist accommodation from STRA. WA excludes hotels, serviced apartments, many wholly managed tourist complexes, and caravan parks licensed under the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act. Victoria’s levy does not apply to commercial residential premises such as hotels, motels, hostels and caravan parks. A house on Airbnb is a different question from a motel.

What should I recheck before acting on this?

The linked government page for your state, on the day you register or lodge. Fees, precinct maps and council positions move. This guide was checked on 22 October 2026.

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Sources

  1. NSW Planning — Short-term rental accommodation
  2. NSW Planning — STRA framework FAQ (September 2024)
  3. State Revenue Office Victoria — Understanding the short stay levy (updated 29 September 2026)
  4. WA Government — Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register
  5. WA Planning — Short-Term Rental Accommodation Planning Regulations (updated 5 January 2026)
  6. YourSAy — Short Stay Accommodation Register (consultation 17 September–30 October 2026)
  7. Tasmanian Legislation — Short Stay Accommodation Act 2019
  8. ACT Revenue Office — Short-term rental accommodation levy

Rules last checked on 22 October 2026.