Insurables — Australian business risk, sourced and dated

Accommodation providers: insurance and scheme requirements

Motels, holiday letting and short-stay operation with guests on site.

Data as at

Required by law or licence

  • Licence liability condition: Split answer. A liquor licence carries no insurance condition. Short-term rental accommodation does: the host must hold insurance covering their liability for third-party injuries and death on the premises, valid for the occupancy period. NSW specifically warns hosts to review the terms carefully, including the nature and extent of any exclusions — which is a regulator saying, in effect, that ordinary home policies may not do the job. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: For STRA, cover must be in force for the whole occupancy period rather than evidenced at a point in time. For a liquor licence, nothing. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: It depends on the model, and the two answers are very different. A hotel or motel serving alcohol holds a liquor licence from the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority under the Liquor Act 2007 (NSW). Short-term rental accommodation is not licensed at all but MUST be registered: an STRA property has to be registered via the NSW Planning Portal before it is advertised or offered for short-term rental. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: A full-text reading of the Act returned ZERO occurrences of "insurance". The instrument is purely fiscal. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, a levy rather than a licence. The Short Stay Levy Act 2024 (Vic) imposes a booking levy from 1 January 2025; registration duties sit with councils under local laws rather than with the state. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No state scheme exists to carry an insurance requirement. Check the specific council. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, nothing at state level. Queensland has no state-wide short-term rental scheme; regulation is council by council. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: A full-text reading of the Act returned ZERO occurrences of "insurance". It is a registration scheme, not an insurance scheme. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, a state register. The Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act 2024 (WA) made registration of STRA premises mandatory from 1 January 2025, for hosted and un-hosted properties alike. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No state scheme exists to carry an insurance requirement. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, nothing at state level. A parliamentary committee has recommended a register and a levy, but no Act exists yet. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: The word "insurance" does not appear anywhere in the Act. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, a data-sharing regime, not a registration one. The Short Stay Accommodation Act 2019 (Tas) requires booking PLATFORMS to report listing data to the Director of Building Control — the obligation falls on the platform, not the host. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence liability condition: A full-text reading of the Act returned ZERO occurrences of "insurance". Fiscal only. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, a levy. The Short-Term Rental Accommodation Levy Act 2025 (ACT) applies from 1 July 2025. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance requirement is stated on the government guidance for that commercial registration, and no host scheme exists. AND THIS IS THE NATIONAL PICTURE: no jurisdiction outside New South Wales imposes an insurance requirement on a short-term rental host. NSW requires hosts to hold cover for third-party injury and death valid for the occupancy period; everywhere else the schemes are registration, levy or data-reporting instruments with no insurance content at all. A host who moves a property interstate loses a legal obligation, not a protection — the risk does not change with the border. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence evidence required: Registration or levy obligations as they apply, but no insurance evidence anywhere outside New South Wales. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licensing body: For short-term rental, nothing resembling a host scheme. The only Territory registration for accommodation is a commercial one under public and environmental health regulations, and it applies to businesses housing seven or more visitors for reward — hotels, motels and hostels — rather than to casual short-term letting. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25

Cover commonly held

Ordered by how central each cover is to this occupation. This is what businesses in the trade commonly hold and what contracts commonly ask for — it is not a statement that any of it is legally required, and it is not a recommendation.

  • Public liability insurance — Cover for legal liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage arising from business activities.
  • Workers compensation insurance — Statutory cover for injury to workers, arranged through each state or territory scheme rather than on the open market.
  • Business pack insurance — A packaged policy combining property, liability and interruption sections for small business.
  • Business interruption insurance — Cover for lost income and additional costs when insured damage stops a business trading.
  • Products liability insurance — Cover for legal liability arising from goods a business sells, supplies or installs, usually written alongside public liability.
  • Commercial property owners insurance — Cover for the owner of a commercial building for the structure, loss of rent and liability as a landlord.
  • Commercial glass insurance — Cover for shopfront and internal glass, signage and associated damage after a breakage.
  • Money insurance — Cover for cash and negotiable instruments on the premises, in transit and in the custody of a person.

Statutory schemes that can apply

Checking what you hold

The document a principal, a landlord or a licensing team will ask for is a certificate of currency. The checker reads one and lists what it does and does not show.

Sources