Holiday Rental Agreement (Australia)

Create a legally compliant Residential Tenancy Agreement for any Australian state or territory. Covering landlord and tenant rights, rent, bond, condition report, maintenance obligations, break fees, and termination procedures in accordance with the NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2010, VIC Residential Tenancies Act 1997, QLD Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, and equivalent state legislation.

Create an Australian Licence to Occupy granting a personal, non-exclusive, revocable right to use premises without creating a tenancy or exclusive possession. Suitable for shared offices, event spaces, co-working arrangements, and short-term use. Not subject to Retail Leases Acts or Residential Tenancies Acts. Covers licence fee, GST, notice period, permitted use, and licensor's right of revocation.

A Short-Term Holiday Rental Agreement is the legal contract used in Australia for the letting of a furnished residential property for a short holiday period, typically less than three months. This type of agreement is fundamentally different from a standard residential tenancy agreement — it is a licence to use the property for holiday purposes, not a grant of exclusive possession as a home. This distinction is legally significant because genuine holiday lettings are generally excluded from the consumer protection provisions of the residential tenancies legislation in all Australian states and territories. In New South Wales, the key exclusion is found in section 8(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), which provides that the Act does not apply to a tenancy under an agreement for the use of premises for a holiday. A similar exclusion applies under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (VIC) and corresponding legislation in other states. The effect of this exclusion is that holiday rental guests do not have the same rights as residential tenants — they cannot seek orders from the tenancy tribunal regarding rent, bond claims, or repairs in the same way that residential tenants can, and the host is not bound by the minimum standards applicable to residential landlords under the Residential Tenancies Acts. The regulation of short-term rental accommodation has changed significantly in recent years in response to the rapid growth of online booking platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz, and VRBO. New South Wales introduced the Short-term Rental Accommodation Code of Conduct 2021 (the NSW STRA Code), which commenced on 1 November 2021. The NSW STRA Code is mandatory and applies to all short-term rental accommodation in NSW with a rental period of less than 90 consecutive days. The Code creates obligations for both hosts and guests and establishes an Exclusions Register maintained by the NSW Department of Fair Trading. Hosts who engage in serious or repeated breaches of the Code may be listed on the Register and banned from hosting short-term rental guests. Guests who engage in serious breaches — such as causing significant damage, holding prohibited events, or seriously disturbing neighbours — may similarly be listed and prevented from making future short-term rental bookings. In addition to the NSW STRA Code, short-term rental accommodation in New South Wales is now regulated by state environmental planning policies that place limits on the number of days per year that a dwelling that is not the host's principal place of residence can be used for short-term rental. These day limits vary by local government area. In Greater Sydney (excluding the City of Sydney local government area), the cap is 180 days per year. The City of Sydney has implemented a 90-day cap. Rural and regional councils may impose their own caps or require development consent for short-term rental use. In Victoria, the government introduced registration requirements for short-term rental accommodation properties from January 2023. All short-term rental accommodation properties in Victoria must be registered with the Victorian Government's STRA Register. Victoria also introduced a Short Stay Levy (a tax of 7.5% of revenue from short-stay accommodation bookings), which came into effect on 1 January 2025 under the Short Stay Levy Act 2024 (VIC). In Queensland, short-term rental accommodation is regulated primarily at the local government level, with councils having the power to require development approval for certain types of short-term rental use. In Western Australia, the Tourism WA Act 1983 requires operators of paid accommodation for more than a prescribed number of guests to be registered with Tourism WA. A well-drafted short-term holiday rental agreement must address the core commercial terms — the rental period, the nightly rate, the security bond, the booking deposit, and the cancellation policy — as well as the specific house rules and conditions that apply to the property. The maximum occupancy limit is particularly important because exceeding the permitted occupancy can breach local council regulations and strata by-laws, and can expose the host to significant liability. The agreement should also clearly set out the host's obligations to provide the property in a clean and safe condition, and the guest's obligations to care for the property and return it in the same condition at the end of the rental period. This template is suitable for private hosts, Airbnb-style operators, and professional holiday letting managers who want to document the terms of a short-term rental of a furnished residential property in any Australian state or territory. Hosts operating in New South Wales should ensure they are compliant with the NSW STRA Code and any applicable local government restrictions on short-term rental use before letting their property.

Create an Australian Release of Liability Waiver for specific events, sports, adventure activities, community events, and recreational programmes. This waiver template is specifically designed for event-based and activity-based releases — distinct from the general Liability Waiver (au-liability-waiver) used for ongoing service relationships — and addresses the specific requirements of the Australian Consumer Law, the Civil Liability Acts of each Australian state and territory, and the recreational services exception under section 139A of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). A release of liability waiver for events and activities is a legal document by which a participant voluntarily agrees, before taking part in an event or activity, to waive claims against the organiser arising from participation — including claims for personal injury, property damage, and (to the extent permitted by law) death. In Australia, the enforceability of such waivers is governed by the interplay between the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the applicable state or territory Civil Liability Act, and the recreational services regime under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). The Australian Consumer Law provides that consumer guarantees for services — including the guarantee under section 60 that services be provided with due care and skill — cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified (section 64 ACL). However, section 139A of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) creates an important exception: suppliers of 'recreational services' (defined to include activities involving physical recreation, sport, adventure, or the use of a facility for these purposes) may, by written contract before the recreational service is supplied, exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by the supply of the recreational service, provided the required statutory warning is given to the consumer. The warning must state that the supplier is excluding liability for death or personal injury, and that the exclusion does not apply to reckless conduct. State and territory Civil Liability Acts provide an additional overlay. In New South Wales, sections 5N and 5O of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) deal with the assumption of risk in relation to dangerous recreational activities. Section 5L provides that a person is not liable in negligence for harm suffered by another person as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the plaintiff. In Victoria, section 53 of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) limits liability for harm from obvious risks of dangerous recreational activities. Similar provisions apply in Queensland (Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) ss 13–19), Western Australia (Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA) ss 5H–5O), and South Australia (Civil Liability Act 1936 (SA) ss 36–43). The ACT and Northern Territory have their own civil liability legislation. These provisions mean that a well-drafted event liability waiver, combined with specific and comprehensive risk disclosure, can provide significant protection for event organisers, sports clubs, adventure activity providers, school excursion organisers, community groups, and charitable organisations. The waiver must be signed before the participant commences the activity, must clearly disclose the specific risks of the particular activity, and must include the required statutory recreational services warning where the section 139A exception is relied upon. This template includes all essential elements: the recreational services statutory warning, the ACL limitation of liability notice, voluntary assumption of risk with specific risk disclosure, a broad release and covenant not to sue, compliance with rules provisions, emergency contact, and optional indemnity, media consent, and emergency medical treatment authorisation clauses. It also includes provision for minor participants requiring parent or guardian consent. The template is suitable for use throughout all Australian states and territories.

Create a comprehensive Australian Commercial Lease Agreement covering permitted use, rent and GST, CPI and market rent reviews, outgoings, bank guarantee, make good obligations, assignment conditions, insurance requirements, and option to renew. Compliant with state-specific Retail Leases Acts (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA) and the GST Act 1999.