Residents in one of the nation’s popular seaside tourist towns are divided amid a major council rampage on illegal camping.
In Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, illegal camping — particularly among caravaners and travellers — is an issue that’s long left the council grappling with how best to manage the problem.
The Noosa Council has been working with police to address the longstanding issue throughout the area in response to “growing community frustration”.
Residents have long complained of campervans filling car parks at beaches and parks along the coast, blocking access to their favourite beaches.
Currently, $345 on-the-spot fines stand for offenders, which went up by $11 on July 1.
But not all locals across the community believe they’re effective, with many supporting enforcement but left wondering if the fines are having the intended effect.
Noosa MP Sandy Bolton believes fining people for illegal camping will do little to address the underlying issue, particularly when it comes to rough sleepers.
That’s because some people resort to illegal camping out of necessity rather than choice.
“If people have nowhere else to go, enforcement simply shifts the problem rather than addressing it,” she told the ABC.
Is there an illegal camping problem in your area? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com
Noosa Council is continuing its crackdown on illegal camping.
(Noosa Council)Council says it receives hundreds of complaints
However, many campers, including those in tents, campervans and caravans, frequently ignore local regulations, setting up in undesignated areas despite signage or restrictions.
The council said it has received 295 complaints about illegal camping this year, on top of the 414 complaints in 2025.
Among the issues, complaints this year about illegal camping include reports of used sanitary items and toilet paper left at beach hotspots, the smell of urine and faeces, and a shortage of parking for locals.
Bruce Gordon, a Noosa resident, said he supported the crackdown but believes the fines are too “steep”.
“I think the fines are a bit steep, but then again … obviously warnings don’t work,” he told the ABC.
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“The government once said there’ll be no homeless children, and that was 10, 15 years ago; it’s still happening … it’s just getting worse.”
Local laws and environmental health acting manager Clint Irwin said the council was trying to find the right balance.
“It is distressing for locals to see because obviously there is waste and rubbish … the community gets rightly upset … Noosa is very in touch with the environment,” he said.
“We’re trying to balance having an infringement or punitive-style approach with a compassionate approach.”
Nearly $12,000 worth of fines were issued by Noosa Council and Queensland Police last month.
A group of travellers from the UK were each slapped with $333 fines for illegally camping at Noosa Spit.
(7News)
Council officers and Queensland Police visited several problem spots, including Tingira Crescent, Claude Batten Drive, The Spit, Dog Beach, National Park precincts, Lanyana Way and Beach Access 50.
In total, 13 fines and one caution were handed to travellers unlawfully camping at hotspots throughout the region.
The five mates from Wales were among those woken by police in the early hours and issued a fine for camping overnight at Noosa Spit during the blitz.
They’ve been travelling around Australia for six months, sleeping in a single van.
They claimed they had no idea they couldn’t park and stay overnight in the beachside car park, which is often filled with campervans.
One member of the group said it was six in the morning when they were woken by “a policeman shining a torch in my face”, one said.
They said they didn’t receive a warning and were instead each handed a hefty $333 fine. That’s $1,665 in total for one night’s stay.
Council’s longstanding battle with illegal camping
Noosa’s Development and Regulation Director Richard MacGillivray said, “Locals have had enough”.
“The mess that they leave from cooking and cleaning and other waste is accumulating and having an impact,” he said.
Council has been attempting to address the issue for some time, and in recent years, has conducted regular compliance blitzes targeting illegal campers who park where they shouldn’t.
Residents have been complaining about the issue for years with council’s enforcement so far not deterring campers.
Previously, illegal campers have been warned of fines if caught unlawfully parked in camping hotspots.
“Which is much more than they’d pay for a night at one of our campgrounds,” MacGillivray previously said.
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