And also, i'd assume there's no financing involved? 

The deal is a COD with mutually beneficial T's and C's but this only holds if the commissions are not involved.

I have a bad habit of using that term with SBA loans as they don't always have real estate involved. 

The management fees for short term rentals are typically significantly higher because of the amount of work involved. 

You are correct, if this situation becomes more of a discussion we will have our lawyer involved more formally; laws are always changing and from all the articles we've read, this particular subject can be grey.  

The tenant would not be involved so-to-speak.

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

@Alexander HunterHi AlexanderYes you are correct, even though the AU market is softening some, it is still quite expensive to get in and can be difficult to find good deals - not impossible though.I invest in the US market from Australia, must admit, as a few have said on this thread, the diversity of the US market is great, and affordability and cashflow is excellent. 

In my mind, risk involves possible loss of principal, down-side involves the hassle of work that I will need to do to to protect investment.

Significantly better returns are required, since it involves packing up shop, setting up somewhere else, establishing new relationships, learning markets, laws and zoning rules, etc.