General News
26 August, 2026
Airbnbs start hornet’s nest
AN application for a Cairns property to change its residential capacity to an Airbnb, which was rejected by the Cairns Regional Council, has opened up a can of worms for short-term accommodation.
The Cairns St property owners requested a material change of use so it could include short-term accommodation as well as long term accommodation at the site.
While a council report recommended approval – as the proposal was consistent with council’s framework for the “changing needs and expectations of the tourism industry” – councillors Rob Pyne, Trevor Tim, Anna Middleton and Mayor Amy Eden opposed the motion.
In an impassioned response to the application, Cr Pyne said the move to short-term accommodation was putting profit before people.
“We are in the grip of a housing crisis right here in Cairns,” he said.
“Families are sleeping in cars because they simply cannot afford a home, and yet in the middle of this emergency, we are watching homes disappear from our rental market, scooped up by short-stay platforms like Airbnb.
“Make no mistake, this is not a natural disaster. This is a political choice. Every house that becomes a holiday let is a house that could have been a home for a local family, a nurse, a teacher, a couple trying to get a start.
“Nearly 100,000 properties are now controlled by a small handful of corporate operators hollowing out affordable housing from our communities. And what do we get in return? Neighbours dealing with constant noise, late night parties, parking chaos and a revolving door of strangers who have no stake in our community. Our states, our streets are being turned into transient zones. Our neighbourhoods are losing their soul.”
Cr Pyne called for a cap on unhosted, short-term rentals and stricter registration requirements and monitoring.
The application had also drawn criticism from four submissions to council which complained that the property, already allowing short-term accommodation, had added noise, parking and traffic chaos and late-night disruptions to what was usually a quiet neighbourhood street.
After the meeting, Cr Pyne said the current system used a case-by-case assessment for short term accommodation applications, so it was up to the community to voice their concerns, as was the case in this instance. “These places need to have a permit and need planning approval, and once we explain that residents often come back with a formal complaint, and that will then lead to an application,” he said.
The refusal of the application in this case could lead to an appeal by the applicant, but it has also raised questions over policing properties that were unlicenced, what penalties they faced when reported, and whether they could be shut down.
A council report acknowledged that “existing unlawful operations have generated amenity impacts”, but that an operational management plan required a working property have a 24/7 contact number.
