The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) WA has welcomed the release of the WA Parliamentary report into short stay accommodation, which has proposed comprehensive and effective regulations that will level the playing field and protect local jobs in WA's licensed accommodation industry.

The WA Economics and Industry Standing Committee’s final report into Short-Stay Accommodation contains the strongest and most effective proposed regulations of any Australian jurisdiction.

At a glance: 

• The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) WA has welcomed the release of the WA Parliamentary report into short stay accommodation.
• The report has proposed comprehensive and effective regulations to level the playing field and protect local jobs in WA's licensed accommodation industry.
• The Committee received over 350 written submissions from a range of stakeholders, most of whom supported greater regulation of short stay accommodation.
• The AHA (WA) explained that for too long platforms like Airbnb have competed with licensed accommodation providers, but without the same regulations and burdens.

The report contains a recommendations to:

• Implement a mandatory state-wide registration scheme
• Require online platforms such as Airbnb to display a valid registration number for short term rentals
• Ensure that online platforms be required to provide data on all short term rental properties listed in Western Australia to the Government agency with primary responsibility for the registration scheme
• Establish an information sharing mechanism between State and Local Government authorities
• Set and impose penalties for non-compliance
• Manage complaints about short term rentals
• Enforce compliance with Local Government controls

Australian Hotels Association (WA) CEO Bradley Woods commended the comprehensive work of the Committee and strongly endorsed their report.

“This has been perhaps the most thorough examination of unregulated short stay accommodation in Australia and the Parliamentary committee is to be congratulated for their wide-ranging inquiry and their strong recommendations,” Mr Woods said.

“The Committee received over 350 written submissions from a range of stakeholders, most of whom supported greater regulation of short stay accommodation as they are the ones whose livelihoods were at risk, along with the tens of thousands of local jobs that they support each year.”

“This report is aptly named Levelling the Playing Field as for too long we have seen platforms like Airbnb compete directly with licensed accommodation providers, but did not face the same regulatory, taxation or fire and safety burdens.”

“This report will be welcomed by not just WA accommodation providers, but by industry stakeholders and their employees across Australia. This provides policy makers with a road map of how to bring fairness to home sharing and how to protect vital Australian jobs.”

“We implore WA Parliamentarians to back WA jobs and the state’s tourism industry by endorsing the recommendations in this report and ensuring they are implemented in full by the interdepartmental working group.”

Click here to view the report’s recommendations in full.

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