As attractive as your option sounds Jimmy T (i.e. that a strata scheme can ban short term letting based on it not being deemed ‘residential’) I am not sure that it would work in reality.
The term ‘residential’ is a zoning term that merely distinguishes it from the other zones which are mainly either: ‘industrial’, ‘commercial’, or ‘agricultural’.
The term ‘residential’ generally does not have the narrow and specific meaning that would be required to ban short term rentals from an area that has been zoned as ‘residential’, and particularly in a zone that already permits other residential types such as: low density residential, medium density residential, high density residential, and large lot residential.
Unless it could be proven by a strata scheme that an owner within their scheme has breached the planning and zoning regulations and has changed the use of their apartment from ‘residential’ to ‘commercial’ then a short term let would still be ‘residential’.
This breach may require a high degree of proof … and, if challenged by an owner, the strata scheme may unfortunately have a difficult time proving this change of use.
I have a vague recollection of a change of use being recognised in Victoria when a large number of apartments within a strata scheme was taken over by a large international accommodation provider that included: an onsite check in desk; an onsite manager; and which employed a commercial cleaning company to service the apartments, and luggage porters etc. This scenario was deemed to be more akin to ‘commercial’ than ‘residential’.
However, this example is unlikely to produce the same outcome from a situation where an isolated few apartments within a ‘residential’ building are let on a short term basis, particularly if they don’t share the same set of characteristics as the Victorian example.