Can I short-term rent in Victoria?

Booking platforms, and owners/tenants who take short-stay bookings directly without a platform, must register for the short stay levy with the SRO (hosts who only ever book through a platform do not need to register themselves, the platform's registration covers it). Providers with annual short-stay booking revenue of $75,000 or more remit the levy quarterly; those below that threshold remit annually, by 31 December. This registration relates only to levy collection/remittance, Victoria does not operate a separate statewide short-term-rental property registration or licensing scheme (unlike NSW's STRA register or WA's mandatory register).

Exceptions: Providers whose stays are exclusively PPR-exempt or exclusively 28+ day stays are not required to register for the levy.

The Short Stay Levy Act 2024 (Vic) commenced 1 January 2025 and imposes a levy of 7.5% of the total booking fee (including nightly rate, cleaning fees and GST, excluding card/payment-processing surcharges and damage-related costs) on any 'short stay', a continuous stay of less than 28 days (not counting the checkout day). For platform bookings (Airbnb, Stayz/Vrbo, Booking.com etc.) the platform must collect and remit the levy to the State Revenue Office. For direct bookings (no intermediary platform) the accommodation provider/host must collect and remit it themselves. Note: the Act's specific Royal Assent date (commonly cited as 29 October 2024) could not be independently confirmed from the legislation.vic.gov.au 'as-made' page during this check, which serves only PDF/DOCX downloads without a metadata table, the commencement date of 1 January 2025 is confirmed directly by the SRO.

Exceptions: A stay in a property that is the guest's or the provider's principal place of residence (PPR) is exempt from the levy, whether owned or rented. Stays of 28 continuous days or longer are not a 'short stay' and are not levied.

The Short Stay Levy Act 2024 amended the Owners Corporations Act 2006 so that, from 1 January 2025, an owners corporation may make a rule banning use of lots for short-stay accommodation, passed by special resolution (75% of lot owners in favour, or 75% of lot entitlements if voted by ballot/poll). The ban cannot apply to a lot that is the owner's or occupier's principal place of residence, residents can still host short stays in their own home. CORRECTION: the previously stated 'interim resolution (50% in favour, no more than 25% against)' pathway could not be verified on the cited consumer.vic.gov.au page, that page discusses only the special-resolution route and makes no mention of an interim resolution mechanism. That detail has been removed pending verification directly against the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) text; treat any interim-resolution claim as unconfirmed until then.

Exceptions: Cannot be applied to a lot used as the owner's/occupier's principal place of residence.

The Commissioner of State Revenue administers the short stay levy using the same Taxation Administration Act 1997 (Vic) compliance framework as other Victorian taxes (e.g. land tax). Base penalty tax rates are: 25% for failing to take reasonable care, 50% for recklessness, and up to 75% for intentional disregard of the law; voluntary disclosure reduces each category substantially (e.g. to 5%/10%/15% if disclosed before an investigation starts, or 20%/40%/60% if disclosed during one). Obstruction or concealment of information adds a further 5-15 percentage points on top of any category, reflected in a cited VCAT case where a taxpayer who deliberately deceived and hindered the SRO was penalised at 90%. Interest also applies to overdue amounts. Where a short-stay levy declaration is later found incorrect, the declarant and the booking platform are jointly and severally liable for the levy, interest and penalty tax.