Victoria
Prescribed accommodation applies to such accommodation facilities as residential accommodation, hotels and motels, hostels, student dormitories, holiday camps and rooming houses.
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (PHWA)the proprietor of prescribed accommodation must register that accommodation with the Council in whose municipal district the prescribed accommodation is located.
The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 provide requirements for accommodation premises on how to comply with the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. The regulations make requirements to prevent overcrowding and ensure that basic health and hygiene requirements to protect public health.
These regulations will determine the number of people that can be accommodated in a room or building.
In Victoria a key regulation is Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 S.R. No. 178/2009.
Here’s some key extracts – but you and your builder/architect need to read the full document.
TOILET AND BATHING FACILITIES IN PRESCRIBED ACCOMMODATION
A proprietor of prescribed accommodation must provide at least one toilet, one bath or shower and one wash basin for every 10 persons or fraction of that number of persons occupying the accommodation.
OVERCROWDING
Subject to subregulation (2), a proprietor of a holiday camp must provide at least 2 square metres of floor area in a bedroom for each person who is accommodated for a period of 31 days or less.
REGISTER OF OCCUPANTS OF PRESCRIBED ACCOMMODATION
(1) A proprietor of prescribed accommodation must keep a register recording—
(a) the names and addresses of persons occupying the accommodation; and
(b) the dates of their arrival and departure.
Local government areas may have their own interpretation. For example here’s the Surfcoast (Victoria) Prescribed Accommodation Guidelines