By Kieran Rooney, Broede Carmody and Rachel Eddie
A new levy on short-term accommodation provided by companies like Airbnb will be presented to state cabinet on Monday as part of a suite of housing reforms to be unveiled early next week.
The Age can reveal that senior Labor ministers will meet early next week to discuss the first stage of the Andrews government’s long-awaited housing statement, set to include a consumer-facing levy on short-term stays that could be as high as 7.5 per cent.
Victoria’s top government decision-makers will weigh up whether to introduce a consumer-facing Airbnb levy on Monday. Credit: The Age
Hotels are expected to be excluded from the levy, according to industry stakeholders familiar with the policy discussions, after campaigning from accommodation and tourism groups.
Based on average rates provided by tracking website Inside Airbnb, a 7.5 per cent levy would add about $17 per night to a short-stay rental in metropolitan Melbourne and $42 for stays on the Mornington Peninsula.
According to the figures, the state government could expect the new levy to raise more than $20 million a year from Melbourne-based Airbnbs and more than $10 million from Airbnbs on the peninsula. The rest of Victoria is not included in Inside Airbnb’s publicly available data and Airbnb does not provide its own detailed figures.
If adopted, it would be the first statewide levy of its kind in Australia. The NSW and Queensland governments have also shown interest in broader Airbnb levies, with the number of short-stay accommodation providers in holiday hotspots pushing out long-term rentals.
Funds raised from Victoria’s charge could then be funnelled towards building social and affordable housing, including continuing the Andrews government’s refresh of existing stock through the Big Housing Build, said senior government MPs who were aware of the plan.
The levy may be coupled with other social housing policies, including inclusionary zoning and stronger planning rules for affordable homes.
Inclusionary zoning is a system used in the United States, Europe, South Australia, the ACT and parts of NSW that requires a proportion of social or affordable housing be delivered as a condition of approval for larger housing projects.
Other major housing reforms that will overhaul the state’s planning system are expected to be further away, as the government mulls giving council powers to new metropolitan planning boards in “priority precincts” around transport and employment hubs.
The state’s expenditure review committee is expected to review housing policies before cabinet meets on Monday, three ministers speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters said.
Premier Daniel Andrews will then spruik social housing reforms alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as early as Tuesday next week.
The Albanese government’s $10 billion housing fund sailed through federal parliament on Thursday.
“Next week I’ll be with one of the premiers outlining exactly how this process will occur to improve housing supply,” the prime minister told parliament.
There are just shy of 28,000 properties listed on Airbnb across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, according to Inside Airbnb. Each listing is booked, on average, for a little more than 50 nights a year.
Airbnb has previously said they would back a statewide levy, which it says is simpler and fairer than a varying council-by-council approach.
Annual charges for short-term accommodation hosts already exist in Bass Coast Shire, Frankston, Mornington Peninsula and most recently Warrnambool Shire, but no Victorian council has moved to restrict the number of nights a home can be rented as a short-stay.
City of Yarra, Port Phillip and Merri-bek have this year discussed the possibility of regulating the short-stay market, with the City of Melbourne indicating the strongest stance, which included the introduction of a cap on the number of nights and an annual registration fee.
The Age first revealed that Labor MPs were plotting an Airbnb crackdown back in May. Since then, the party’s state and federal conferences have endorsed resolutions calling for greater regulation around short-stay accommodation.
The Coalition opposes an Airbnb levy, which it calls a “tourism tax”, warning a new levy could have implications for tourism and Victoria’s GST share.
“We stand strongly opposed to what will be the 50th new or increased tax since the Andrews government was elected in 2014,” opposition tourism spokesman Sam Groth said.
“It will punish all Victorians, particularly regional communities, at a time when they can least afford it.”
The Greens have publicly backed an Airbnb crackdown, but have not ruled out blocking the government’s housing reforms if not enough is done to assist renters.
It is not yet known if the state government will cap the number of nights people can list their properties on Airbnb. Some within Labor’s ranks have called for caps to encourage Victorians to list their holiday homes on the long-term rental market and help put downward pressure on rents.
Andrews on Thursday recommitted to releasing the housing statement this month.
The government has also been weighing stripping local governments of some planning powers to speed up the flow of developments to add an extra 1 million homes into established suburbs by 2050 and limit urban sprawl.
“This is not a blame game,” Andrews said on Thursday when asked about planning decisions in local governments. “Good decisions made faster, I think, is critically important to us getting more housing built and giving consumers more options, more power, more choice.
“It’s very easy for people to say ‘not here, not here, not here’. The question is, ‘Where?’ If you’re going to say no all the time to everything, what’s your answer? Where will people live?”
On Thursday, Andrews revealed a new scheme providing up to $1 billion in low-interest loans and guarantees to help finance more social and affordable homes.
The announcement was supported by industry, including the Property Council and Urban Development Institute of Australia, who are hopeful the government’s housing statement will focus on “partnerships” and incentives rather than strict rules forcing developers to build more homes.
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