General FAQs

The term holiday home applies specifically to the exclusive use of a privately owned home (single house, unit, townhouse, apartment etc), for short-term accommodation, in return for hire or reward, and without another person living permanently in the home (‘un-hosted’). An approved holiday home could also be used for long-stay/permanent residential purposes.

A bed and breakfast involves the hiring out of bedrooms in a private home, and is required to be ‘hosted’ by a person living permanently in the home. By contrast, a holiday home means the exclusive use of the entire home, without a person or ‘host’ living there permanently.

Not necessarily. Airbnb can include listings for entire homes including units or apartments, private rooms, and shared rooms (although shared rooms are not common in the City of Busselton). It is only the listings for entire homes that are classed as holiday homes, because they are not hosted. A listing for a private room within a home, where a person lives permanently in the home, is classed as a bed and breakfast.

Holiday homes have been occurring in the City of Busselton, and in many other places in Western Australia, for many decades. These were often little beachside ‘shacks’ and the owners and their family and/or friends would come for holidays as time permitted.

At the start of July 2021, there were 969 registered holiday homes in the whole District. Some holiday homes may not be registered because they’re not hired out – they’re used only by the owners of the property, or their family and friends. These privately used homes don’t require registration because they are for private and personal use only. Others might not be for private or personal use – i.e. they’re being hired out – and are not registered. These properties are operating illegally.

Every three months the City receives a report from a company that tracks online holiday home listings (BnbGuard) and these are compared with the City’s list of registered properties. If an unregistered home is detected, then the property owners are contacted and advised that they must apply for development and registration approval for the use of the property as a holiday home.

Some of the regular complaints received by the City include:

• Properties that aren’t registered but it appears they are being hired out.
• Too many occupants and/or guests of those occupants.
• Too many vehicles, causing issues for surrounding properties.
• Antisocial behaviour, for example too much noise, littering, trespassing into nearby properties.
• Waste management, for example overflowing bins or bins being left out in the street for days.
• Unattended dogs who are not familiar with the property becoming distressed (barking).

• They provide an alternate and sometimes more affordable type of accommodation for tourists and other visitors to the region. Some of these tourists may not visit the region without holiday home options.
• They provide an income for some people who may not have other income stream options.

Currently, there are two major steps for a holiday home to able to operate.

1. Development approval. This is guided by the City’s Local Planning Scheme, and the Holiday Home Local Planning Policy. A development approval is valid “for the life of the property.”
2. Registration approval. This is guided by the Holiday Home Local Law, and can only be granted if development approval has first been received. A registration must be renewed every 12 months, and is automatically cancelled if a property is sold. New owners can apply for a new registration approval, without also needing to re-apply for development approval.

Rules for holiday homes were first discussed by Council as early as 2002, when an amendment to Town Planning Scheme No. 20 was drafted. Holiday homes were however becoming a broader issue in Western Australia, and the Minister for Planning at the time required Council to make some changes to the Scheme amendment. Council decided that a more rigorous set of rules were required, and a Local law and Local Planning Policy were also developed. The entire ‘framework of rules’ was eventually approved late in 2012.

Since the entire ‘framework of rules’ was approved late in 2012 there has been little substantial change to the provisions in the Local Planning Scheme, and no changes to the Local Law. The Local Planning Policy has been amended three times. The most substantial changes include:

• In 2015, allowing holiday homes to be considered in Dunsborough Lakes (but not permitted in some other residential areas).
• In 2018, allowing holiday homes to be considered in all residential areas, throughout the District.

The following is a comparison between the ideas for change that have been adopted by Council, called ‘Opportunities for Change’, and the current rules.

The world of “shared access” to goods and services, through online booking platforms, has grown and is evolving quickly. The City’s rules need to keep pace with these rapid changes, and with the different needs of the community which can vary between preserving the amenity of residential areas, the long tradition of holiday homes in the District, and supporting local business who benefit from tourism.

No, they’re not. The City has drafted some ideas for change, and we’re seeking your feedback. When the consultation period closes we will sit down and carefully work through all of the feedback, and redesign the existing rules if appropriate. Depending on the volume of feedback, it may be some time before any new rules are drafted.

After the consultation period closes, the following will happen:

• We will carefully work through all of the feedback. Depending on the volume of feedback, that may take some time.
• The feedback will inform what sort of shape the new rules will take.
• It is hoped that a report will be provided to Council before the end of 2021 discussing the outcomes of consultation, and more detailed recommendations about what new rules (formal changes) should be pursued.
• If Council supports those recommendations, then a second round of consultation advertising the formal changes will be required.
• Any changes to the Local Planning Scheme would need final approval by the WA Minister for Planning.
• Any changes to the Local Law would need final approval by the WA State Parliament.

Right now, and all through the first consultation period, it’s business as usual - your application will be assessed under the current set of rules.