Noosa Council supports Tourism Minister's intentions for short-term letting

Noosa Council is very happy with the recent announcement by Kate Jones, Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development, on proposed legislative measures to manage the growing on-line short-term letting industry.

“Immediately following Noosa Council’s successful motion at last year’s Local Government Association of Queensland conference, Minister Jones made a commitment to establish a stakeholder reference group to consider issues around the on-line short-term letting industry, that being Airbnb, Stayz and other platforms,” said Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington.

“Minister Jones was good to her word, and the Reference Group has now met four times, most recently last week. The group comprises representatives from many different sectors of the tourism industry, including representatives from Stayz and Airbnb, plus various State Government departments, and two Councils, Noosa and Cairns.

“As a result of last week’s meeting, Minister Jones has sent out a media release supporting both a code of conduct for the sector as well as a registration system to help identify property addresses. These are exactly the measures that Noosa Council has been advocating.

“One of the difficulties in dealing with this issue has been distinguishing genuinely home-hosted properties from those which are investment properties and thus entire houses or apartments available on a permanent basis,” says Mayor Wellington. “Noosa has begun to make this distinction in the way we approach the Tourism Levy and its application to short-term rental properties.

“In her media statement, Minister Jones has also distinguished between the two types of accommodation in the sector. We know, from analysts like Deloittes, that the vast majority of properties let through on-line platforms are in fact entire houses and apartments, not simply people letting out spare rooms in their private homes. It’s really the permanent letting of entire properties that we need to get a handle on.

“I look forward to further progress on this important issue via the Reference Group. Plainly we will be keeping a close eye on developments in NSW, where the Government has flagged a relatively stringent legislative approach to short-term rental properties.

“The Local Government Association of Queensland should also be commended for supporting Noosa Council’s push for greater transparency and improved management of this growing tourism sector,” the Mayor said.

9 July 2018