In response to resident enquiries and a recent petition (below in italics is the petition text) to the State Parliament posted on 20 June 2025, we have sought clarification from the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Tourism regarding if what is sought is possible under the planning framework in Queensland. It is important to note that with other communities across Queensland not experiencing the same issues as Noosa, the University of Queensland (UQ) report in 2023 rejected a statewide blanket rule as they felt that removing the ability for local governments to customise and intervene at a local level would be detrimental. Sandy will update once a response has been received.

Petition text – Principal petitioner Tony Magrathea (Moffat Beach, QLD, 4551)

Queensland citizens draws to the attention of the House Airbnb is the catchall term for renting out homes. There are many companies associated with these short term rentals, Airbnb the most infamous. The bnb bit of the name means bed and breakfast.

Barcelona has cancelled 66,000 short term rental licences to help address the city’s housing crisis and rising rents.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to limit all short term rentals to places where the owner of the property is actually living and staying in the property and doing a bed and breakfast service. 

Regarding other STA reform advocacies, Sandy has also written to the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Local Government in March 2025 regarding the following dot points:

  • We understand from a Question on Notice response from the Deputy Premier to Sandy, UQ’s recommendations, including implementation of a statewide STA registration scheme, are currently under consideration by the Cabinet Housing Ministerial Taskforce. We have requested an update including a timeline of when this decision will be made. Uniform code of conduct standards across Queensland are welcome, however these must still allow councils to develop local responses for needed compliance to protect residents impacted socially or economically.
  • Sandy has also requested that consideration of a statewide STA registration scheme include mandatory data sharing, as per the motion, authored by Noosa Council and passed at the annual Local Government Association Queensland conference in October 2024 and also in the council’s 2024 key state priority list. This should include booking data and real property addresses through a data-sharing agreement, which would support local councils with accurate data for policy and regulatory purposes and enable improved and consistent oversight of STA activities.
  • We have also asked if the department has consulted with Noosa Council on the legislative barriers that they face regarding STA regulation and what is being undertaken to address those issues including the ones that relate to injurious affection provisions. A previous Noosa 360 update that can be read at sandybolton.com/short-term-accommodation-update-april-2022, has a previous response to queries regarding state legislation and existing use rights for properties with a history of short term lets within the Noosa Shire. In addition, with the need to increase Queensland’s housing supply and availability of long-term rentals, a funding stream was requested to support existing council STA management schemes, and we understand that there is no precedent of local governments being assisted with state government funds for this purpose, however, there are examples of other jurisdictions where this has occurred. One is the Canadian Government, which has implemented a Short-Term Rental Enforcement Fund to support municipalities and Indigenous communities’ local enforcement of STA restrictions in an effort to make more long-term housing units available. Activities that this funding supports local government to undertake are:
    • Raising awareness and educating the public.
    • Managing complaint systems.
    • Managing licensing, permitting, or registration systems.
    • Conducting investigations and inspections.
    • Issuing warnings, bylaw offence notices, or tickets.
    • Supporting legal proceedings.

The following in italics is an extract from the response from the Minister for Local Government committing to work with local councils:

Regarding consultation with the council, the Queensland Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland recently signed a new Equal Partners in Government Agreement (EPIGA) which will underpin an equal and respectful relationship between the Queensland Government and Queensland’s local councils.

As part of the EPIGA, the Queensland Government will undertake timely and meaningful consultation on policy, legislation, strategy, and program initiatives where local councils have an interest. You can be assured that the Queensland Government will consult with the council as appropriate.

We will continue to update as more progress is made, and responses have been received.

Further Information

Sandy as a State Member of Parliament only has jurisdiction with matters under the Queensland Government’s remit. We have no authority to direct Noosa Council in their operations or issues under their jurisdiction. Information on the oversight of local government can be found at www.sandybolton.com/oversight-of-local-government, with the contact details for the Noosa Council Mayor and Councilors available 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