Tasmania's proposed short-stay levy: what Hobart hosts need to know

Tasmania's Short Stay Levy Bill 2026 has passed the House of Assembly but has not yet received royal assent. This matters: the levy is a proposal, not yet law. Here is what it contains, who it applies to, and what Hobart property owners running short-stay listings should be tracking.

What the bill proposes and who it covers

The bill was introduced by Treasurer Eric Abetz and tabled on 16 April 2026. It proposes a 5% levy on short-stay accommodation booked through platforms for stays of fewer than 28 consecutive nights.

The levy is paid by the guest, not the property owner. Treasurer Abetz noted that around 83% of Tasmanian short stays are made by interstate or overseas visitors, so the bill is designed to direct most of its cost toward non-resident tourism. Collection and remittance fall on the platform, not the individual host. In practice, Airbnb or Stayz would add the levy to the guest's booking total and pass it on to the government. The precise mechanics will be confirmed in regulations once the bill becomes law.

Several categories sit outside the bill's scope entirely:

• Direct bookings made between host and guest without a platform intermediary are not covered.
• Hotels, pubs, bed and breakfasts, and caravan parks are explicitly excluded.
• Owner-occupied properties where the owner ordinarily lives in the home are exempt. A Hobart homeowner renting out a spare room via Airbnb while living there would not be affected.
• Agri-tourism and farm-stay properties, defined as on-farm visitor accommodation prohibited from residential use under the Tasmanian Planning Scheme, were exempted by an amendment carried during committee stage.

Revenue from the levy is estimated at $7 to $10 million per year, revised down from an earlier $11 million estimate after the exemptions were added. That revenue is directed to first home buyer support, including a stamp duty exemption on homes up to $750,000 and a $30,000 first home owner grant.

Where the bill stands and what to watch for

The bill passed the House of Assembly on 7 May 2026 by a vote of 22 to 9, with support from the Liberals, Greens, and crossbench members. It received its first reading in the Legislative Council on 15 May 2026.

As at 1 June 2026, the Tasmanian legislation index did not list a Short Stay Levy Act, confirming royal assent had not been granted by that date. Whether the Legislative Council has since passed, amended, or referred the bill to a committee is unconfirmed at the time of writing. Tourism Industry Council Tasmania's CEO publicly called for the bill to be referred to an upper house committee, so amendment or further delay remains possible.

The commencement date has also shifted. The government's original target was 1 July 2026. The bill as passed by the lower house specifies commencement "no earlier than 1 January 2027," with the exact date to be set by proclamation after royal assent. Until that proclamation is made and the accompanying regulations are published, the full compliance picture is not yet settled.

For owners currently listing on platforms, the bill has broad lower house support and enactment looks probable. The most useful preparation now is confirming with your platform how it will handle the levy on your listings, checking whether your property qualifies for an exemption, and watching for royal assent announcements.

The longer-term picture for investment property owners

The levy is designed to shift the economics of short-stay relative to long-term tenancy, and its revenue feeds directly into housing affordability measures. For Hobart investors weighing the two options, the levy adds a meaningful input: not as a direct cost to the owner, but through its potential effect on occupancy rates and guest pricing if visitors absorb a 5% surcharge on top of existing platform fees.

If you are thinking about how the levy might affect a property you manage on a short-stay platform, a free rental appraisal is a practical way to understand what the long-term rental market looks like by comparison.

If you have questions about how the bill might affect a property under our management, we are always happy to work through it with you.