24/08/2026
STAAA has today been featured by ABC News as the debate over short-term rental accommodation (STRA), housing supply and regulation continues in New South Wales.
The article examines calls for further restrictions on STRA in Sydney, including potential prohibitions in some areas, changes to nightly caps and calls for a 7.5% levy. The NSW Government confirmed to the ABC that it is still finalising its review of the state’s STRA regulatory framework.
Keiran Craig-Jones from STAAA spoke to the ABC about why the solution is more complex than simply imposing further restrictions on responsible owners and operators.
STAAA’s position remains clear, in that there is no evidence presented in the article demonstrating that nightly caps will deliver the claimed housing outcomes, while prohibition risks penalising compliant operators.
One area that does require greater attention is rental arbitrage.
This is where a third party leases a residential property and then sublets it as STRA for profit. Unlike an owner making their own property available as STRA, arbitrage can involve a property being taken directly from the genuine long-term rental market for the purpose of operating a short-term rental accommodation business.
As Keiran told the ABC:
“Those operators are typically not local, have no vested interest in the local area and community and no relationship with the neighbours who deal with the consequences.”
STAAA supports banning the rental arbitrage model, rather than imposing blanket restrictions that capture responsible owners and operators.
We believe governments should instead focus on:
• effective registration and enforcement;
• meaningful data sharing between state and local governments;
• identifying how properties are actually being used;
• targeting non-compliant operators; and
• preventing genuine long-term rental properties from being leased solely for STRA arbitrage.
Interestingly, City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller also raised concerns about councils’ access to data, calling for greater transparency around properties, their use and the number of nights they are rented. The ABC reports that NSW currently provides quarterly STRA register data to Airbnb at Airbnb’s request, while councils have raised concerns about their own enforcement capabilities.
Good regulation starts with good data and targeted enforcement, not assumptions about an entire industry.
And finally, one small correction for the ABC…
Keiran Craig-Jones is a SHE, not a HE. 😆
We all knew that one already.
🔗 Read the full ABC News article:
City of Sydney Deputy Mayor Jess Miller warns nothing is preventing short-term accommodation investors from exploiting new developments earmarked for NSW.
