The Victorian government is introducing a bill to parliament on Tuesday to impose a 7.5 per cent user-pays levy on short-stay platform bookings.
The levy was one of the centrepiece policies of the Victorian housing statement unveiled in September 2023.
After consultation with stakeholders and negotiations with the crossbench, the Labor government has opted to exempt those leasing out part or all of their principal place of residence for short stays.
Treasurer Tim Pallas says it's a reasonable amendment despite it lowering the expected revenue take from $70 million to $60 million.
Tim Pallas says the levy will ease the housing crisis by boosting availability. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
"The aim never really was to stop sub-letting," he told reporters at parliament.
"In fact, that goes against the opportunity of getting people into accommodation places that they can call their own."
Under the legislation, owner corporations can ban short stays in their buildings with a 75 per cent vote and the levy will only apply to stays of fewer than 28 days.
Local councils will retain the power to regulate short-stay bookings, including through the setting of caps on the number of short-stay properties in the area and days a property can be listed.
It means owners who list a property on short-stay platforms could still be on the hook for additional charges from local councils.
"Only four councils in the state have gone down this path," Mr Pallas said.
"What we are proposing makes no changes to the existing arrangements that councils had with regard to charging."
Owner corporations can ban short stays in their buildings with a 75 per cent vote. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)
Commercial accommodation - such as hotels, motels and caravan parks - will be exempt from the levy.
The levy will apply from January but any bookings made beforehand - including for dates beyond that - won't be subject to the charge.
There are roughly 63,000 short-stay accommodation places in Victoria, with almost 50,000 of those entire homes that are off the market for long-term rental.
Mr Pallas said the levy would boost housing availability but could not say by how much.
"We will have to see," he said.
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the levy would do nothing to improve housing affordability.
"This new tax will raise money simply to plug budget holes in Homes Victoria," he said.
Stayz' senior director of government and corporate affairs Eacham Curry said the reforms were a departure from what was previously proposed.
"These changes will undermine the original purpose of the levy; to raise money for social housing initiatives, and risks creating bureaucratic complexity that will drive away tourism dollars," he said.
It directly contradicted the government's original pledge to create a simple framework for the industry, Airbnb said.
"This will undermine the economic benefits that flow from short-term rentals," the Australian and New Zealand company's head of public policy Michael Crosby said.
Victoria Tourism industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said the sector had been left in a "terribly exposed position".
"Local councils have been given a green light to slap an additional tax on top of what is already in place, meaning this could end up being a 15 or 20 per cent tax in reality, or more," she said.
The Tasmanian government has promised to introduce a five per cent levy for users across all short-stay accommodation, while NSW is considering its own rental booking surcharge.
Parts of Sydney, the Clarence Valley, Muswellbrook and Ballina already impose a 180-day limit on properties used for non-hosted short-term stays.
Brisbane's Lord Mayor in June announced permits would be required to operate Airbnbs in the area.
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