Council imposes 'strict' crackdown at popular Aussie beach as illegal act surges
Councils across the country are grappling with a growing trend at local beaches.
Authorities across the country continue to grapple with the major problem of illegal camping as tourists travel the nation in vans and caravans, while others struggle to keep a roof over their heads during a cost-of-living crisis.
Regardless of why people are sleeping in their cars, beachfront car parks from Queensland's Noosa to Fremantle in Western Australia are being filled with vehicles that are overstaying their welcome. Now another council has taken drastic action to curb the illegal act.
The City of Fremantle is now enforcing four-hour parking at the popular South Beach with parking meters installed. While four-hour parking has been in place for a while, council said it was difficult to enforce.
Visitors will now be required to use the pay-by-plate machines to confirm their parking duration, but parking will remain free.
It means drivers will be required to enter number plate details and display a paper ticket on their dashboard, or use an app to record their free parking session. The same number plate then cannot re-enter the car park within two hours of the expiry of the initial parking period.
"We hope this will help resolve the issues we've had with illegal campers and improve the availability of parking bays," City of Fremantle CEO Glen Dougall said.
"We are not the first local government to enforce parking time limits at local beaches. The Town of Cottesloe and City of Stirling are just some that strictly enforce time limits at Cottesloe and Scarborough beaches respectively."
Earlier this year, Fremantle Ports installed privately operated pay-by-plate machines at South Mole to enforce a time limit and deal with illegal camping.
Reacting to the news, locals had mixed reactions. While some welcomed the news, others feared that it would push illegal campers into nearby residential streets.
"If campers stop parking at the beach, they’ll park in residential streets…. genius planning right there," pointed out one local.
While another was more optimistic, adding: "Maybe this is a step to getting rid of the endless amount of people camping in vans for months and years on end with no one to patrol or stop it happening."
Aussie councils crack down on illegal parking
Elsewhere, councils have resorted to drastic action to curb the problem, including one that opted to turn off the hot water at Perth's City Beach. Backlash from the public meant that the decision was quickly overturned.
Last week, Noosa Shire Council commenced a six-month trial of four-hour parking restrictions at the popular Noosa Spit car park to prevent "the monopolising" of parking bays. Previously parking was unlimited between 4am and 10pm, but illegal camping continues to create tension in the area between locals and illegal campers.
"The trial is about giving more residents and visitors a reasonable opportunity to find a car park in this area to enjoy the beaches," Clint Irwin, from the Noosa Council said.
The rise in illegal camping has not only made it increasingly more difficult to find a park but long-stay visitors have also caused "damage to the environment" which council says is being taken seriously.
Illegal camping across Australia
Recent figures by council reporting app Snap Send Solve revealed thousands of reports of illegally parked RVs and caravans across the country.
"These figures underscore a widespread issue across the country, particularly in urban areas where space is limited and pedestrian and road safety are critical," Danny Gorog, CEO of Snap Send Solve told Yahoo News Australia in October.
Illegal camping reports in 2024 as at October 4:
Victoria: 2,936 reports
New South Wales 2,048 reports
Queensland with 1,610 reports
Western Australia 636 reports
South Australia 136 reports
Tasmania 34 reports
(reported via the Snap Send Solve app)
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