Free camping abolished in big advocacy win; New budget initiatives welcomed

Caravan & Residential Parks Victoria has today welcomed the Victorian Government’s decision to abolish free camping at Parks Victoria campsites from 1 July this year. 

This follows a sustained association driven advocacy campaign to protect the commercial interests of private caravan park owners.
 
The move to return to pre-December 2024 fees at government managed campgrounds restores a more level playing field for our highly regulated tourist caravan parks, many of whom had been forced to compete against taxpayer-funded, unregulated sites.
 
This backdown by the government is a testament to the resilience of our park operators, who have continued to invest in their visitor experience and affordability despite facing unfair, anti-competitive conditions for the past six months. Thank you to those members who worked with us to have this very poor initiative abandoned.
 
We will now seek opportunities to work with the Victorian Government to ensure regulations which apply to our members also apply to Victorian Government sites for the benefit of all who enjoy the great outdoors.
 
We also welcomed several new initiatives in today’s Victorian Budget, including:

• Increased funding to speed up planning approvals,
• Business support for the Grampians post-fire recovery,
• Support for Regional Tourism Board partnerships, and
• A new Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence for modular housing.

Currently, we have too many locally manufactured cabins, glamping tents and housing units unable to be ordered, manufactured, installed or approved for accommodation having been stifled by outdated, unfair, and inconsistently applied planning rules and regulations.

Our team will continue to analyse the budget papers, but these initiatives appear to provide some important steps to help unlock millions of dollars in stalled caravan park investment across regional Victoria with the prospect of significant improvements in investment certainty across the Victorian accommodation supply chain.
 
Along with these opportunities, CRPVic will still work to have registered caravan parks included in VicSmart planning processes.
 
CRPVic looks forward to working with the Victorian Government to ensure today’s announcements translate into tangible outcomes for park operators, accommodation manufacturers, regional communities, and the thousands of families who rely on regulated tourist parks for unique, affordable holidays.

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