Airbnb Rules by State: What Australian Buyers Need to Know in 2026
There is no single set of Airbnb rules in Australia. A two-bedroom apartment can be uncapped in one postcode, limited to 180 nights a year in the next, charged a 7.5% levy across the border and need a council approval somewhere else. This guide sets out where each state and territory stands as at 12 October 2026, who is tightening, who has stepped back, and how to check a specific address before you sign anything.
Key Takeaway
Australia regulates short-term rentals at three levels: the state or territory, the local council and, for apartments and townhouses, the strata scheme or owners corporation. In 2026 the direction is mixed. South Australia is consulting on a register, the ACT levy is scheduled to rise, and NSW is still reviewing its framework. At the same time Brisbane dropped its proposed permit scheme and Tasmania's upper house voted down a 5% levy.
Before You Choose A Location
Answer these five questions for the exact property, not just the suburb.
1Registration: Does the state require the property to be on a short-term rental register, and what does it cost?
2Night limits: Is there a cap or approval threshold on non-hosted nights in this council area?
3Levies: Is a levy added to each booking, and who collects it on platform and direct bookings?
4Planning: Does the council need a development approval or permit for whole-home short stays?
5Building rules: Can the strata scheme or owners corporation restrict or ban short-term letting?
The 2026 Snapshot
Levies in force: Victoria 7.5% and the ACT 5%. State registers: NSW and Western Australia, with South Australia consulting until 30 October 2026. Night caps: NSW in mapped areas, including 180 nights in Greater Sydney and 60 nights across most of Byron Shire. Approval threshold: 90 unhosted nights in Perth metro. Stepped back: Brisbane permits and the Tasmanian levy.
Why Airbnb Rules Differ So Much Across Australia
Short-term rentals sit across several areas of law at once: planning, tax and levies, fair trading, and strata or owners corporation law.
Each state and territory controls those areas for itself, and most of them hand a share of the planning decisions down to councils. Two properties a short drive apart can face very different rules because a council boundary runs between them.
For a buyer, the useful question is not "Is Airbnb legal in Australia?" It is "What can this dwelling do, at this address, under this council, in this building?" Fire safety and conduct standards sit beside these rules too: in NSW, for example, a short-term rental dwelling must have an evacuation plan and interconnected smoke alarms, and a mandatory Code of Conduct applies to platforms, hosts, guests and letting agents.
State or territoryRegisters, statewide night caps or exemptions, levies, fire safety standards and codes of conduct.
Local councilPlanning approvals, local laws, permits, rating categories and enforcement of amenity complaints.
Strata or owners corporationBy-laws or rules about short-term letting, common property, noise, parking and guest behaviour.
New South Wales: A Register, Mapped Caps And A Review Still Open
NSW runs the most detailed statewide framework. According to the NSW Department of Planning, every short-term rental property must be registered on the state's STRA Register. The fee is $65 for a new registration and $25 for each annual renewal. If a registration expires, it is held for three months, during which online platforms cannot accept bookings, and after that the property is de-registered.
The night limits apply only to non-hosted stays, meaning the host does not live on the premises during the booking. Non-hosted short-term rental is capped at 180 days a year under the exempt pathway in Greater Sydney, Ballina and certain mapped land in Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook. Since 23 September 2024, most of Byron Shire has been capped at 60 days a year, with two mapped 365-day precincts around the Byron Bay town centre and Brunswick Heads.
Two details matter a great deal for the numbers. First, bookings of 21 consecutive days or more are exempt from the non-hosted day limits. Second, hosted stays have no day limit, and the host does not need to live in the rented unit itself, so a homeowner with a granny flat can let it year-round while living in the main house.
The state is still reviewing its settings. The Department's page says a discussion paper drew more than 430 submissions and 2,400 survey responses, and that the government is still considering policy changes. In July 2026, Homelessness NSW called for a 7.5% levy on short-term rental bookings; the government had not said whether it would adopt it.
What it means for a buyer in NSW
Outside the mapped areas, many regional councils have no state day cap, although council planning rules can still apply. Inside a capped area, model the property on its capped nights plus longer stays, not on a full year of short stays. Confirm the details on the NSW Planning short-term rental page before relying on them.
Victoria: The 7.5% Short Stay Levy And Owners Corporation Powers
Victoria chose a levy rather than a statewide night cap. The State Revenue Office says the short stay levy applies to short stays from 1 January 2025. A short stay is a stay of less than 28 consecutive days in the same property, not counting the checkout day. The levy is 7.5% of the total booking fee.
The booking fee includes the nightly rate, cleaning fees, GST and any late checkout fee. It does not include credit card fees, other payment processing charges or charges for damage. The SRO's own example: a total booking fee of $1,000 attracts a levy of $75.
Who pays depends on how the booking is made. Platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz and Booking.com must register, collect the levy on bookings made through them, lodge and pay it. An owner who accepts bookings directly, without a platform, must register and lodge returns. Properties with total booking fees of $75,000 or more in a calendar year lodge quarterly, within 30 days of each quarter's end. Below $75,000, returns are annual and due on 30 January.
Several properties are excluded, including a short stay in a property that is the principal place of residence of the owner or renter, and hotels, motels and hostels.
Victoria also changed the balance of power inside apartment buildings. Industry summaries published in 2026 report that, from 1 January 2025, an owners corporation can ban short stays by a 75% special resolution, and that the ban cannot apply to a lot that is someone's principal place of residence. Before buying an apartment for short stays in Victoria, check whether a resolution has been passed or proposed.
Check the source
Read the SRO's understanding the short stay levy page, which was last updated on 29 September 2026, and ask the owners corporation manager for current rules and minutes.
Queensland: Council By Council, And Brisbane Stepped Back
Queensland has no statewide short-term rental register, night cap or levy. Regulation is left largely to councils, which is why rules on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Cairns and Douglas Shire can each look different. Several coastal councils use their planning schemes or local laws to manage short stays, so the council check is essential.
The biggest 2026 change was in Brisbane. Brisbane City Council had proposed a Short Stay Accommodation Local Law with a permit scheme. Its consultation page now says Council is not proceeding with the proposed local law at this time, explaining that the growth of platform-based short stays has slowed and management of homes has improved. Airbnb welcomed the decision in a statement dated 11 May 2026.
"Not proceeding at this time" is not the same as "never". Council says it will keep enforcing existing local laws and keep the community informed if future changes are proposed.
One statewide safety rule is worth noting for every Queensland purchase. Queensland Fire Department guidance says all existing private homes, townhouses and units require interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms by 1 January 2027, and for sale contracts signed after 31 December 2021 the seller must upgrade to the interconnected standard before transfer.
Western Australia: A Compulsory Register And The Perth 90-Night Line
Western Australia combined a register with a planning threshold. The state says all providers of short-term rental accommodation in WA, hosted and unhosted, must register on the STRA Register. The initial registration fee is $250 and the annual renewal fee is $100.
Hosted short-term rental is exempt from development approval across the whole state, because the host stays on site. In the Perth metropolitan area, unhosted short-term rental is exempt from development approval when it is let for 90 nights or less, non-consecutive, within a 12-month period counted from the date of registration. The register sends courtesy notifications at 80 and 90 nights booked. If you intend to let for more than 90 nights, the WA planning guidance says to obtain development approval from the outset, before taking bookings.
WA's guidance is explicit that this is not a night cap. Caps were not included in the planning changes. Instead, a property can trade beyond 90 nights with a development approval. Outside the Perth metropolitan area, including Peel, each local government decides whether development approval is required. The state's 2024 announcement said councils would amend their schemes during 2025 so that approvals could be obtained by 1 January 2026.
What it means for a buyer in WA
A Perth holiday home that you plan to let most of the year needs a development approval strategy before purchase, not after. Read the WA planning reform guidance and call the council's planning team about the specific lot.
South Australia: A Register Is Being Designed Now
South Australia does not yet have a short-stay register in force, but that is changing. Consumer and Business Services opened consultation on a proposed Short Stay Accommodation Register, a Code of Conduct and other related reforms on 17 September 2026. Consultation closes at 5:00 pm on Friday 30 October 2026.
The consultation follows a 2025 parliamentary Select Committee that noted there is no reliable central database of active short-stay properties and recommended a register.
For buyers, the practical point is timing. Anyone purchasing in Adelaide, the Fleurieu, the Barossa or the Limestone Coast over the next year should assume registration and a code of conduct are likely and budget the time to comply. Owners can still have their say through the YourSAy consultation page until the closing date.
Tasmania: Levy Defeated, Planning Still Matters
Tasmania's government proposed a 5% short stay levy, a 2024 election promise intended to help fund a stamp duty exemption for first home buyers. On 9 September 2026, as reported by the ABC, the Legislative Council voted it down, with Labor and several independents opposed. The government had revised its revenue estimate from about $11 million a year to $8 million after amendments.
No levy does not mean no rules. Industry summaries of Tasmania's planning scheme describe an exemption for home sharing, such as letting your own home while you are away or letting rooms while you live there, while other whole-home visitor accommodation generally needs a council planning permit. The City of Hobart in particular has been a focus of debate over whole-home conversions, so a Hobart purchase needs a careful council check.
The ACT: A Levy Now, A Higher Levy From July 2027
The ACT Revenue Office says the short-term rental accommodation levy is 5% of the total booking amount paid or payable by the guest, for bookings made from 1 July 2025. From 1 July 2027 the levy will increase to 7.5%.
The levy covers bookings of less than 28 continuous days, not counting the checkout day. Booking service providers are liable to pay it, so a guest booking through a platform such as Airbnb does not pay it directly to the government. Direct bookings with an owner or occupier are not subject to the levy, and hosted accommodation, where the owner or occupant stays on the property at the same time, is excluded.
The Northern Territory: Fewest Specific Rules, Still Not Rule-Free
We could not find a territory-wide short-term rental register, night cap or levy in the Northern Territory at the time of writing. That makes it the least specifically regulated jurisdiction for short stays.
General laws still apply. The NT Planning Scheme, unit title rules, building requirements, insurance and tax obligations all continue to matter. A Darwin apartment, for example, still sits inside a body corporate with its own by-laws. Confirm with the NT planning authority and the body corporate before assuming anything is permitted.
Who Is Tightening And Who Is Relaxing In 2026
Headlines often talk about an "Airbnb crackdown". The 2026 record is more balanced than that. Some governments are adding registers and levies. Others have looked hard at new rules and decided against them.
Tightening: South AustraliaConsultation on a register and Code of Conduct opened 17 September 2026 and closes 30 October 2026.
Tightening: the ACTThe 5% levy is scheduled to rise to 7.5% from 1 July 2027.
Tightening: PerthUnhosted stays beyond 90 nights a year need a council development approval, with approvals available from 1 January 2026.
Under review: NSWThe framework review is still open, and a 7.5% levy has been proposed by Homelessness NSW but not adopted.
Stepped back: BrisbaneCouncil is not proceeding with its proposed permit local law at this time, a decision reported in May 2026.
Stepped back: TasmaniaThe upper house defeated the proposed 5% short stay levy on 9 September 2026.
Governments want data, accountability and a contribution to housing, and some have dropped measures that did not deliver those things. Buyers who choose properties that comply comfortably, and run them well, are in a stronger position as the rules settle.
Worked Example: How A Night Cap Changes The Numbers
The following example is illustrative only. It uses round figures to show how a cap works. It is not a forecast for any property and leaves out costs, which are covered below.
Imagine a two-bedroom apartment in Greater Sydney, let non-hosted, so the 180-night cap applies. The building permits short-term letting, and the owner has a choice of three strategies.
Strategy A: long-term leaseRent of $800 a week for 52 weeks gives gross rent of $41,600 a year (illustrative).
Strategy B: short stays only180 nights at an average of $260 gives gross booking revenue of $46,800, with the rest of the year empty (illustrative).
Strategy C: short stays plus longer stays180 short-stay nights at $260 ($46,800) plus three stays of 28 nights at $150 a night ($12,600) gives $59,400 (illustrative).
Strategy C works because NSW exempts bookings of 21 consecutive days or more from the non-hosted day limit. The longer stays earn less per night but fill nights the cap would leave empty, with fewer cleans.
Gross revenue is not profit. A short-term rental carries platform fees, cleaning, linen, consumables, utilities, furnishing, insurance, maintenance and management, while a lease carries a lower but real set of costs. In this illustration, Strategy C has about $17,800 more gross revenue than the lease. Whether that becomes more profit depends on those costs, the property and the demand in that location.
Worked Example: What A Levy Really Costs
This example is also illustrative. Take a Victorian holiday home with a two-night stay at $240 a night plus a $160 cleaning fee, for a total booking fee of $640. At 7.5%, the levy is $48, so the stay costs the guest $688 before any platform guest fee.
An owner has two broad choices. They can let the guest total rise by the levy and rely on the property's appeal, or they can trim their own price so the guest total stays close to where it was. To keep the guest total at $640, the booking fee would need to fall to about $595, because $595 plus 7.5% is about $640. That is a cut of roughly 7% in the owner's booking value.
Pass it onOwner keeps $640 of booking value; the guest pays $688. Works best where the property has strong demand and few close substitutes.
Absorb itGuest pays about $640; owner keeps about $595. On $60,000 a year of booking value, that is roughly $4,190 (illustrative).
Competitors in the same state carry the same levy, and stays of 28 days or more are outside the Victorian levy, which can make longer stays a useful part of the mix in shoulder seasons.
Hosted Versus Non-Hosted: The Distinction That Changes Everything
Across the states, one definition does more work than any other: whether the stay is hosted. In NSW, a stay is hosted when the host lives on the premises during the stay, and hosted stays have no day limit. In WA, hosted short-term rental is exempt from development approval statewide. In the ACT, hosted accommodation is excluded from the levy. In Victoria, a short stay in the owner's or renter's principal place of residence is excluded from the levy.
That makes property layout a strategy decision. A house with a self-contained granny flat, a dual-occupancy lot or a home with a separate downstairs wing can sometimes be run as a hosted arrangement while the owner lives on site, with very different rules to the same floor area let as a whole home.
Definitions differ by state. In NSW, units with an onsite manager or concierge are generally treated as non-hosted, for example, so check the definition that applies before building a plan around it.
Six Costly Mistakes Buyers Make With Short-Term Rental Rules
Most rule-related losses come from avoidable mistakes made before settlement.
Checking the suburb, not the lotCaps, precincts and zones are mapped. Byron Shire's 365-day precincts show how much a boundary can matter.
Relying on the selling agent"It's run as an Airbnb now" says nothing about whether it is registered, approved or permitted by the building.
Modelling 365 nights of short staysIn a capped or approval-threshold area, the model must reflect the nights the property can actually trade.
Ignoring the buildingStrata by-laws and owners corporation resolutions can restrict short-term letting regardless of state rules.
Forgetting the levy in the priceIn Victoria and the ACT, the guest total includes a levy that competitors in other states do not carry.
Letting registrations lapseIn NSW, an expired registration stops platform bookings during a three-month hold, then leads to de-registration.
Each of these can be checked in days before an offer. After settlement, the same problem can take months to fix.
A Short-Term Rental Rules Checklist Before You Buy
Work through this list for the exact property and keep written evidence of each answer.
1Identify the council: Confirm the local government area and the zone that applies to the lot.
2Check state registration: Confirm whether a register applies, the fees and whether the current owner is registered.
3Check night limits: Find any cap or approval threshold and whether the lot sits inside a mapped area or precinct.
4Check planning approval: Ask the council planning team whether whole-home short stays need approval at this address.
5Check levies: Note the rate, what it applies to and who lodges it on direct bookings.
6Read the building rules: Obtain strata by-laws or owners corporation rules and recent meeting minutes.
7Confirm fire safety: Check smoke alarm and evacuation plan requirements for the state.
8Model realistic nights: Build the revenue forecast around permitted nights and a realistic length-of-stay mix.
9Plan a fallback: Price the property as a long-term rental as well, so the purchase still stands up if the rules change.
10Get advice: Have a solicitor or conveyancer confirm the planning and strata position before you go unconditional.
Why Rules Are A Reason To Plan, Not A Reason To Walk Away
A long-term rental is a good, legitimate investment, and it is the right choice for many owners. Our view at WTP is that a well-chosen, well-run Airbnb can be the better strategy for the right property. It can earn materially more from the same asset, it lets the owner control pricing, channels and length of stay, and it keeps flexibility for personal use that a fixed lease takes away.
The rules are part of choosing well. A property that sits outside a cap, or in a council with a clear approval path, or in a building whose rules support short stays, starts with an advantage. A property inside a cap can still perform if the plan uses longer stays, hosted arrangements or the right season mix. And because a residential property can usually fall back to a normal lease, a short-term rental keeps an exit that many commercial investments do not.
What changes is the work. Registration, renewals, levy settings, length-of-stay rules and compliance records all need to be handled every year. That workload is real, and it is exactly the kind of problem a specialist buyer's agent and manager are set up to solve.
This article is general information only. It does not consider your objectives, finances or needs. Before relying on short-term income in a loan application, ask your broker how the lender treats it, confirm your insurer covers short-term letting, and get licensed financial, tax, legal and lending advice before acting.
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How WTP Helps You Buy And Run An Airbnb Within The Rules
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Frequently Asked Questions About Airbnb Rules By State
Is Airbnb legal in every Australian state?
Short-term letting is not banned outright by any state or territory, but each one regulates it differently. Some require registration, some charge a levy, some cap non-hosted nights in mapped areas and many leave planning approval to councils. Buildings can add their own restrictions, so check the exact address.
Which states have a short stay levy?
As at October 2026, Victoria charges a 7.5% levy on short stays of less than 28 days, in force since 1 January 2025, and the ACT charges 5% on platform bookings of less than 28 days, rising to 7.5% from 1 July 2027. Tasmania's proposed 5% levy was defeated in its upper house on 9 September 2026. NSW has not adopted a levy.
What is the 180-day rule for Airbnb in NSW?
Non-hosted short-term rental is capped at 180 days a year under the exempt pathway in Greater Sydney, Ballina and mapped parts of Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook. Bookings of 21 consecutive days or more do not count towards the cap, and hosted stays have no day limit. Most of Byron Shire has a 60-day cap instead.
Do I need to register my Airbnb?
In NSW and Western Australia, yes. NSW charges $65 to register and $25 a year to renew. WA charges $250 to register and $100 a year to renew, and covers hosted and unhosted properties. South Australia is consulting on a register until 30 October 2026.
Can I run an Airbnb in Perth without council approval?
Hosted short-term rental is exempt from development approval across WA. In the Perth metropolitan area, unhosted short-term rental is exempt when it is let for 90 nights or less within a 12-month period. Beyond that, council development approval is required, and registration is required either way.
Does Queensland have a cap on Airbnb nights?
Queensland has no statewide cap, register or levy. Councils manage short stays through their planning schemes and local laws, so rules vary between areas. Brisbane City Council decided in 2026 not to proceed with its proposed permit local law at this time.
Can my strata or owners corporation ban Airbnb?
In some states, yes. NSW strata schemes can make by-laws restricting short-term letting in lots that are not a principal place of residence, and Victorian owners corporations have been reported to have a 75% special resolution power from 1 January 2025.
Are Airbnb rules likely to change again?
Very likely. NSW is reviewing its framework, South Australia is designing a register and the ACT levy is scheduled to rise. Brisbane and Tasmania show that proposals can also be dropped. Check the official pages before buying.
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