Following our advocacy prior to, and in the lead up to the Queensland Housing Summit, with the full history on:

  • our STA advocacy here
  • and our advocacy on housing here

including previous task forces, the Government finally acknowledged it would review the economic impacts of short-term rental accommodation, including the impact on housing availability.

This review has now been completed and as you can see from our summary, there is very little in terms of what assistance will be provided to Noosa, hence our Estimates Question available here, under the ‘Grants to manage STAs’ heading, regarding resources for Noosa Council in their endeavours.

Summary

The full report is available at https://planning.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/83333/a-review-of-the-impacts-of-short-term-rental-accommodation-in-queensland.pdf.

In summary:

  • The STA Report was conducted by the University of Queensland on behalf of the Queensland Government.
  • The report focussed on analysing data on STAs from Deckard and AirDNA which scapes information from STA companies including AirBNB, Stayz, and hotels.com, however the report recognises that the data used has limitations.
  • It finds that STAs with that data do not appear to have increased over the review period of 2018-2023.
  • Across the state there are about 32,000 active STAs listings, with it peaking in particular regions – Douglas (12.4%), Noosa (6.4%), and Whitsunday (4.5%) have the highest shares of residential dwellings used for active STAs. It finds in such markets; local councils may be best placed to determine and implement short-term measures to limit wider negative impacts on the immediate community.
  • The report claims that from their modelling STAs do not impact rental affordability (although total dwellings do). This makes little sense to the reality being experienced.
  • The report concludes that the evidence does not support introducing a statewide limitation on STAs. Given the reports from Byron Bay of the difficulties they faced because of statewide legislation, this may be a positive. It recognises some councils are developing their own regulatory schemes for STAs or have as our own Noosa Council has done.
  • It also recommends a registration scheme for all STAs in Queensland with a code of conduct. However, with Noosa Council already having a registration scheme, this may be superfluous. In addition, a statewide scheme may be too ‘removed’ from communities, leading to cumbersome responses to non-compliances which would not be a step forward.

The Queensland Government has stated that they will now consult with the Short-Term Residential Accommodation Industry Reference Group and the Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ) on the review’s findings and recommendations, particularly on implementing a short-term rental registration system.

Sandy will be advocating to ensure the Government engages with Noosa Council including on any statewide registration scheme, so they do not overlap and are mutually supportive. Furthermore, the Government should also consult broadly with residents and include funding support for Councils that run STA regulatory schemes as part of establishing any State scheme.

We will further assist Noosa Council in this process when requested.

Further Information

To see our summary of the outcomes from the Housing Summit, please visit the Noosa 360 update at www.sandybolton.com/queensland-housing-summit-outcomes-report-december-2022

The Minister’s answer to a different Queston Without Notice during Estimates Hearings gives further insight at https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/events/han/2023/2023_08_02_EstimatesSDC.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1xvaoGh5Vk1yQMH9ZwiJQhiNI4RLDUWNh4gKl6xRC5szIIydR0uiszxzU#page=27

Direct advocacy regarding STAs can be directed to the QLD Minister for Local Government via deputy.premier@ministerial.qld.gov.au and please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au as well forward any response you receive to us.

Direct advocacy regarding housing can be directed to the QLD Minster for Housing via housing@ministerial.qld.gov.au and please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au as well forward any response you receive to us.

To contact the Noosa Council Mayor and Councilors, please find their information at www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/927/contact-list-councillors

For our previous Noosa 360 updates on STAs, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=Short+Term+Accommodation

For our previous Noosa 360 updates on Housing, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=Housing