Short-Term Rental Accommodation Incentive Scheme

In order to remain eligible for the second incentive payment, the property must be re-let on the long-term rental market with a gap of no more than six weeks between tenancies.

If an owner executes subsequent tenancies within the allowed six-week period, the second incentive payment is due to the owner after the 12-month anniversary of the property being initially leased.

No. Any subsequent tenancies are not subject to a minimum tenancy length however, to receive the second incentive payment the property must have been leased on the long term rental market for at least 12 months from the property initially being leased.

Any rent increase must comply with the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 as well as the terms of the residential tenancy agreement.

To be eligible for the second incentive payment, the tenant’s rent must remain at or below the maximum rent chargeable by location for the entire 12-month period.

What are the eligibility criteria for the scheme?

To be eligible, applicants must meet all the below requirements:

Stage One: $4,000 paid on application approval.

• You own a single, self-contained property i.e. house, flat, apartment, unit.
• You owned the property for the entire STRA period, and you are the current owner.
• The entire property was occupied or advertised as un-hosted short-term rental accommodation for the relevant period (refer below).

• STRA Phase 1 Relevant Period	STRA Phase 2 Relevant Period
  The property was occupied or advertised as un-hosted short-term rental accommodation between 28 September 2023 and 9 November 2023.	The property was occupied or advertised as un-hosted short-term rental accommodation between 22 September 2024 and 3 November 2024.

• You transition your property from short-term to long-term rental accommodation by midnight on 30 June 2025.
• You enter into a residential tenancy agreement for at least 12 months, and the tenancy must commence:
  • for applications made under STRA Phase 1 Period, after 9 November 2023 and no later than midnight on 30 June 2025.
  • for applications made under STRA Phase 2 Period, after 3 November 2024 and no later than midnight on 30 June 2025.
• The rent charged is at, or below, the maximum rent chargeable under the scheme for your property’s location.
• You have an Australian bank account that payments can be made into.

Stage Two: $6,000 paid after 12 months

• The property was leased on the long-term rental market for at least 12 months since the announcement of the STRA Incentive Scheme.
• The owner has complied with the requirement that rent be at or below maximum rent chargeable under the scheme by location throughout the 12-month term of the lease agreement.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications online.

To apply online you must have an established 'Standard' strength Digital Identity such as myID. (Please see FAQ's "What is a Digital Identity and how do I establish one?")

If you are unable to apply online, a manual application form is available by contacting Consumer Protection on 1300 304 054.

A Digital Identity is a safe, secure and convenient way to prove who you are online to access government online services.

You can establish a digital identity through myID.

No, the owner of the property must make the application and complete the declaration within the application process.

Applications must be submitted by midnight 30 June 2025.

No, all applications will be dealt with in order, on receipt of all relevant criteria being met and documentation being provided.
 

STRA Incentive Scheme payments may be assessable income for taxation purposes. We recommend you seek independent professional advice on your taxation obligations.

No, your property does not need to be fully furnished when being leased on the long-term rental market. It is at the owner’s discretion if they lease the property furnished or un furnished, however, the rent must still be at or below the maximum rent chargeable under the scheme by location.

Yes, applications to the STRA Incentive Scheme must meet the following conditions:

• the property is located in WA
• the applicant is an owner of the property, and where it is jointly owned, they are authorised by any other owner/s to make the application on their behalf
• the applicant and any co-owners do not live in the property
• the applicant and any co-owners are not related to any of the tenants. This is defined as immediate family including blood- or step- parents/children/siblings
• only one application can be made per property
• the residential tenancy agreement does not allow for the tenant/s to sub-let or part with possession of the property
• the residential tenancy complies with the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) and Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 (WA)
• the applicant has all necessary approvals to rent the property such as strata company approvals if required

Applicants will need to provide supporting documentation to show that they meet the STRA Incentive Scheme criteria.

A copy of the residential tenancy agreement must be included with your application to show that the property is rented on the long-term rental market for at least 12 months and that the tenancy started after the announcement of the STRA Incentive Scheme on 9 November 2023 for Phase 1 or 3 November 2024 for Phase 2.

Supporting documentation must also be included with your application to show that the property was booked as STRA, or was available for booking for the applicable relevant period. This might include:

• a booking platform agreement covering the relevant period;
• booking confirmation emails demonstrating that the property was booked as STRA within the relevant period;
• extracts from your booking calendar, showing that the property was either booked or available for booking as short-term rental accommodation during the relevant period;
• a copy of a tax or transaction statement issued by your booking platform to substantiate the property’s use as short-term rental accommodation. The statement must indicate bookings, or payments, within the relevant period.

Eligible applicants are entitled to the Stage One incentive payment once the tenancy has commenced, not when the residential tenancy agreement is executed. It is a requirement that the tenant has taken up occupancy of the property to be eligible for the scheme as the 12-month tenancy extends from the occupancy date not from the date the agreement was entered into. 

Yes. If you have an eligible property in any part of WA, you can apply to the STRA Incentive Scheme.

Yes. If you have an eligible property in Christmas Island or Cocos Keeling Islands, you can apply to the STRA Incentive Scheme. The Australian Government funds the IOT’s participation in the Scheme.

If the property is owned by an organisation or trust, then you will need to provide evidence that you have authority to act on behalf of the Trust or Company. This must be submitted with your application.

If the property was advertised and available for booking as short-term rental accommodation during the six weeks before the STRA Incentive Scheme announcement, then you meet this criterion.

STRA Incentive Scheme payments will be made to the bank account you nominate in your application. However, payments will only be deposited in Australian bank accounts.

The STRA Incentive Scheme provides a second incentive payment of $6,000. This payment is available to property owners who qualified for the first incentive payment by leasing their property on the long-term rental market for 12 months. If eligible, the applicant will be entitled to the second payment after the 12-month anniversary of the property being leased on the long-term rental market. You will receive a notification email from Consumer Protection after the 12-month anniversary.

No. If you sell the property before the end of the 12-month tenancy then you will not be eligible to receive the Stage Two incentive payment. It is a key requirement that you own the property and in this scenario, at the time that the Stage Two payment falls due, you are no longer the owner of the property and so you will not be eligible for the Stage Two payment. If you sell the property it does not affect your entitlement to the Stage One payment. It is important to note that the new owner would not be eligible for the Stage Two payment either as they did not own the property at the time of the claim, nor did they own the property when it was available as short-term rental accommodation during the 6-week period prior to the government’s announcement of the scheme.

Any existing short-term rental accommodation bookings during the application period can be honoured, you can then apply for the incentive scheme once you have transitioned the property to long-term rental accommodation. You need to have transitioned your property from short-term to long-term rental accommodation, and lodged your application, by midnight on 30 June 2025.

It is ok that you managed the short-term rental yourself. You will need to be able to provide evidence of the property being occupied or advertised as un-hosted short-term rental accommodation during the applicable relevant period. (Please see FAQ’s “What documentation do I need to include with my application?”)
 

To manage a long-term rental, read Consumer Protection’s Renting out your property - a landlord’s guide. If you have any questions, contact Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54 or email consumer@demirs.wa.gov.au.

If you have questions about the STRA Incentive Scheme, contact Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54 or email at cpgrants@demirs.wa.gov.au.