The Hodgman Liberal Government is building Tasmania's future with a Plan that prioritises jobs, stimulates the economy, eases cost of living pressures and invests in areas that are important to Tasmanians, like health and education.
The Tasmanian Government has embraced the home sharing economy, introducing nation-leading regulation in July 2017 that changed the rules surrounding short-stay accommodation (such as AirBnB and Stayz) to provide certainty, consistency, reduce red tape and support consumer choice.
This was done through an Interim Planning Directive, which has now been assessed by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC).
The TPC’s recommendation to retain the exemption for Tasmanians renting out rooms in their own home, or their primary place of residence while on holidays, is a glowing endorsement of our reform to make it easier for people to share their home.
We will now begin work on implementing the TPC’s other recommendations, including minor changes to our secondary reforms for visitor accommodation that goes to investment properties and homes with more than four bookable rooms, such as:
* A reduction to the permitted floor area;
* Further controls on visitor accommodation in strata schemes; and
* Reverting the regulation of visitor accommodation for some areas within Battery Point back to the way it was under the Hobart Interim Planning Scheme 2015.
The Tasmanian Government strongly believes that adopting the changes recommended by the independent TPC will make it easier for short-stay accommodation providers and local government to comply with our Sharing Economy Regulations.
Compliance is critical to ensure the balance is right, and we expect those in the short-stay sector to be adhering to the regulations. The Tasmanian Government will continue to work with local government to ensure people are abiding by these rules.
These recommendations also complement our Data Sharing Partnership, between the Government and Airbnb and Expedia/Stayz, which will provide us with valuable information about the contribution of the sharing economy to inform policy and improve transparency.
The TPC’s report on the Planning Directive can be found at: http://www.iplan.tas.gov.au/Pages/XC.Track.Assessment/SearchAssessment.aspx?id=645