Airbnb says the contract is between hosts and guests. From 20 November, Airbnb decides what that contract is allowed to say.

We are Australian Airbnb hosts. We own the homes, pay the mortgages, hold the insurance, meet council, strata and state registration rules, and answer to police and neighbours for what happens on our properties. Without us, there is no Airbnb.

Airbnb's own Terms say it "is not a party" to the contract between host and guest, and that hosts have "complete discretion" over the terms they offer. Yet for bookings from 20 November 2026, Airbnb will:

• limit hosts to seven standard house rules, with everything else downgraded to an optional "request";
  ban rules given by message, by sign in the home, or in person;
• ban signed guest agreements, except for monthly stays, luxury listings or where a law or building rule demands one;
• ban hosts from collecting guest contact details or keeping a copy of ID, even when our insurer, council or police need them;
• flag, suspend or remove listings that don't comply.

At the same time, Airbnb's Terms make hosts solely responsible for insurance, legal compliance and guest registration. We carry all the risk, and Airbnb is taking away the tools we need to manage it.

This lands on top of problems hosts have raised for years: refunds forced on hosts while Airbnb keeps its own fee, refund claims approved on a guest's word alone, retaliatory reviews that stay up even when proven false, and support that leaves hosts unheard.

Why we believe this may break Australian law

Unfair contract terms. Since November 2023 it has been illegal to use unfair terms in standard form contracts with small businesses, which covers almost every host. Airbnb can change its terms at any time, interprets its own policies at its "sole discretion", overrides our cancellation policies, and makes Australian business hosts sue in Ireland. Penalties now reach $100 million per breach.

Misleading conduct. Airbnb's Terms admit reviews "may be incorrect or misleading", yet Airbnb shows star ratings to guests as a measure of quality and uses them to rank and remove hosts. Airbnb has broken this law before: in 2023 the Federal Court ordered it to pay $15 million for misleading Australian consumers.

Privacy and data accuracy. Ratings attached to a host's name are personal information. Australian privacy law requires it to be accurate and corrected when it is not.
We are not anti-Airbnb. We want a fair partnership.

We ask Airbnb to:

1. Pause the 20 November 2026 house rules and host contract changes.
2. Consult hosts before changing our terms again.
3. Let hosts set lawful house rules and use disclosed guest agreements and ID checks where insurance, council, safety or police need them.
4. Refund its own fees whenever it forces a refund on a host.
5. Investigate claims on evidence, with a real right of reply.
6. Remove reviews proven false or retaliatory, and fix a rating system where one review can undo years of good hosting.

We ask the ACCC, the Small Business Ombudsman and the OAIC to examine whether Airbnb's host terms and review practices comply with Australian law.

Hosts: sign, then tell us in the comments what these rules will mean for your home. Guests: sign too. Fair rules for hosts mean safer, better-run stays for you.