Short term rental compliance — common questions answered

It depends on two things: whether your property is hosted or unhosted, and how many nights per year you plan to rent.

Hosted (you live on the property during guest stays) — no development approval required across all of WA. State registration is still required.

Unhosted in Perth metro (guests have the whole place to themselves) — no approval needed if you rent for 90 nights or fewer per year. Over 90 nights, development approval from your local council is required.

Unhosted outside Perth metro — some councils require approval regardless of nights. Busselton and Augusta Margaret River both require approval from night one. Other regional councils vary — check with your specific council.

Browse our council-by-council guide to see what applies to your property.

Hosted means the owner or a permanent resident lives on the property during the guest's stay — for example, renting out a spare room while you're home, or staying in a granny flat while guests use the main house.

Unhosted means guests have exclusive use of the entire property with no owner or permanent resident on site during the stay. This is the standard whole-house Airbnb rental model.

The distinction matters because hosted short-term rental is exempt from development approval requirements across all of WA. Unhosted is what triggers the 90-night threshold and council DA requirements.

Unhosted short-term rental accommodation in the Perth metropolitan area is exempt from needing a council development approval if the property is rented for 90 nights or fewer in a 12-month period.

The 90 nights are non-consecutive — they accumulate across the registration year. The state Short-Term Rental Register tracks this automatically and will send you notifications at 80 and 90 nights booked.

If you intend to operate over 90 nights, the WA Government's own guidance recommends applying for development approval before you start taking bookings — not after you hit the threshold.

The 90-night rule is a WA Perth metro rule. It does not apply in Noosa (QLD), which requires approval from night one, or in councils like Busselton and Augusta Margaret River where DA is required regardless of nights.

Everyone — existing and new. The WA short-term rental reforms are not forward-looking only. Operating a short-term rental without the required registration or development approval is an offence under the Planning and Development Act 2005, regardless of how long you've been operating.

Registration has been mandatory since 1 January 2025 for all properties, including ones that have been on Airbnb for years. From 1 January 2026, unregistered properties cannot advertise or take bookings on platforms like Airbnb.

The state Short-Term Rental Register now gives councils direct visibility of who is operating and how many nights they're booking — making it straightforward to identify non-compliant properties.

See our WA reforms page for a full timeline of what changed and when.

Yes. State registration is mandatory for all short-term rental accommodation in WA — hosted and unhosted — regardless of how many nights per year you operate. Registration became mandatory from 1 January 2025.

The 90-night threshold only determines whether you also need a council development approval. Registration is a separate, universal requirement.

Register at straregister.demirs.wa.gov.au. Initial fee is $250, annual renewal is $100.

Operating without registration is an offence under the Planning and Development Act 2005 and can result in significant fines.

From 1 January 2026, booking platforms including Airbnb and Stayz will be required to ensure properties listed on their platforms hold a valid WA STRA registration number. Unregistered properties will not be able to advertise or accept bookings from that date.

Yes — registration and development approval are separate requirements. Existing development approvals remain valid, but you still need to register on the state Short-Term Rental Register and provide your development application number as part of registration.

If you had an existing approval (for example, for a holiday house or bed and breakfast), you can enter that approval number when registering to confirm compliance with the state register.

The standard WA planning timeframe is 60 days from lodgement of a properly made application. However, this varies by council and application type.

Applications that require neighbour advertising (which most unhosted short-term rental development applications do) take longer — add 14–21 days for the advertising period. Advertised applications where a neighbour objects may take longer again.

Some councils are faster than others depending on their current DA workload. Busselton and Noosa, both of which process high volumes of short-term rental development applications, typically have well-established processes.

If you need approval in place before a specific date (like the 1 January 2026 deadline), lodge as early as possible — don't assume a quick turnaround.

A management plan is a document submitted with your development application that explains how you'll operate your short-term rental — covering things like guest numbers, check-in and check-out times, noise management, parking, complaints handling, and house rules.

Almost every WA and QLD council requires a management plan as part of a STRA development application. The format and required content varies by council — some want a structured form with specific labelled fields, others want a free-form narrative document.

Urban Approval Group prepares the management plan for your specific council as part of the application we lodge on your behalf.

The standard documents required by most councils are:

• Development Application form (signed by all owners)
• Management Plan (content specified by each council's local planning policy)
• Certificate of Title (available from Landgate at landgate.wa.gov.au)
• Site plan and floor plans

Some councils require additional documents — for example Noosa requires building certification, pool safety certification, and electrical certification for smoke alarms. Busselton requires a bushfire emergency plan for properties in bushfire-prone areas.

Check our individual council pages for the specific document list for your council.

When a council advertises a development application, it notifies adjoining and nearby property owners in writing that an application has been lodged and invites them to make written submissions. This is called neighbour notification or advertising.

So yes — your immediate neighbours will typically receive a letter from the council informing them of your application. They have the opportunity to object or support it.

In the Town of Victoria Park, for example, unhosted short-term rental is an "A" use in Residential zones, meaning advertising is mandatory for every application. In some other councils it may be discretionary depending on the application.

Objections from neighbours don't automatically mean your application is refused — councils assess applications on planning merits, not by majority vote. A well-prepared management plan and application package is the best way to address potential concerns before they become objections.

There are two separate costs: the council's own council application fee, and Urban Approval Group's service fee.

Council council application fees vary by council. In WA, common fees range from $295 (Busselton) to higher amounts depending on the council's fee schedule. In Noosa (QLD), the application fee is $1,026 with an annual renewal of $400 (house) or $200 (unit). The council fee is paid directly to the council — not to Urban Approval Group.

Urban Approval Group's service fee is $300 flat — this covers pathway assessment, management plan preparation, application lodgement with the council, and follow-up through to a decision.

You can find council-specific fees on our individual council pages.

Operating an unhosted short-term rental without the required development approval is a breach of the Planning and Development Act 2005. Consequences can include:

• A compliance notice from the council requiring you to cease operating
• Enforcement action including fines
• Referral for de-registration from the state Short-Term Rental Register
• Higher retrospective council application fees at some councils (like Busselton) if you apply after the fact

The state Short-Term Rental Register gives councils direct visibility of who is operating and how many nights they're booking — making it straightforward to identify properties operating over the threshold without a development application.

Yes — you can lodge a development application at any time, including if you've been operating without approval. The council will assess the application on its planning merits.

However, some councils apply a higher fee for retrospective applications. The City of Busselton, for example, charges more for applications lodged after a property has already been operating without approval.

Applying now — even retrospectively — is always better than continuing to operate without approval and waiting for a compliance notice.

In Queensland, operating without the required development approval is a development offence under the Planning Act 2016. Penalties can reach up to 50 penalty units — approximately $8,345 based on 2025–26 penalty unit rates.

In Noosa specifically, the local law has been actively enforced since February 2022 and the Council monitors compliance through an online dashboard. Operating without approval in Noosa is a real enforcement risk, not a theoretical one.

No. Queensland does not have a statewide 90-night exemption. Each council in Queensland sets its own rules through its local planning scheme.

In Noosa, approval is required from night one — there is no night-count exemption at all. In Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, whether approval is required depends on your property's specific zone. In Brisbane, there is currently no mandatory citywide permit scheme (a proposed scheme was announced but subsequently cancelled in May 2026).

Check the council page for your specific QLD council to confirm what applies to your property.

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council does not currently have a mandatory statewide approval requirement for all short-term rentals — whether you need approval depends on your property's zone under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme.

Noosa Shire, however, is a separate council from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. If your property is in the Noosa Shire (Noosa Heads, Noosaville, Sunshine Beach, Peregian Beach etc.), approval is required under Noosa's local law. Check which council your property actually falls under before assuming.