Do you use Airbnb to find holiday accommodation? As the short-stay rental website grows its presence in Australia, Tourism Accommodation Australia has made submissions to Federal and state governments to introduce legislation to require the registration of rooms that are let on a commercial short term basis by individuals.

TAA wants councils to have greater powers to manage and monitor registrations of shorter term rentals/residential accommodation. Airbnb is reported to already have over 35,000 rooms in Australia for rental. TAA is calling for Federal, State, Territory and Local governments to agree on a national system requiring the registration of premises that are used for commercial short stay accommodation so that they meet a range of health, safety, tax and regulatory requirements. The group believes that regulations should apply in a proportionate way, in that resident landlords should not be subject to the same regulations as non-resident commercial landlords of privately rented property, or houses in multiple occupation.

“We are not against the ‘sharing’ economy, but we are opposed to the ‘taking’ economy, where unregulated commercial short-term accommodation providers take lots of money without meeting their obligations to guests, the community and the wider economy," said Chair of TAA and former Federal Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson. “If there is rampant growth of illegal short-stay commercial accommodation, it will significantly reduce the likelihood of investment in tourist accommodation, which has the potential to be one of the most sustainable generators of future employment in Australia."