Noosa Heads illegal camping crackdown: Frustrated residents, claims of human waste in national parks

A disabled Noosa woman says the region needs a designated place for visitors to park overnight and use amenities after human waste was discovered amid a council crackdown on illegal campers.

A video posted to social media of campervans and four-wheel drives lining the carpark of the Noosa Woods and Spit area. Photo: Facebook

A disabled Noosaville woman says the region needs a designated place for visitors to park overnight and use amenities after human waste was discovered amid a council crackdown on illegal campers at Noosa.

Carolyn Lawson has a disabled sticker on her car, enabling her to park in disabled car spaces, but has frequently found the car parks in Noosa Woods have been overrun with campervans and four-wheel drives, some of which park in the limited disabled parking.

She said she had seen travellers hang their washing while parked in the area, cook food and scrape their leftovers onto the ground.

She watched the Noosa Woods and surrounding national park become a dumping ground for human waste and said there was often a strong smell of urine and she had discovered human faeces near Doggy Beach.

She said tourists were the “bread and butter” of the Noosa region, but tourists in campervans and four-wheel drives needed a designated area.

Noosa Woods is a section of national park connected to Hastings St in Noosa. Photo: Google Maps.

“I don’t mind that they’re here, I don’t mind that they’re backpacking, because they fill a lot of the jobs here; what I have a problem with is they need their own area,” she said.

Additionally, she said more disabled parking and more toilets were needed in the Noosa Woods and across the region.

Carolyn Lawson, who has had forgo her disability parking for campers illegally parked at the Noosa Spit, is calling for them to have their own area. Picture: Patrick Woods.

A council spokesman said both “amenities” in Noosa Woods were locked between about 10pm and 6am for public safety and security reasons.

Mrs Lawson said self-composing toilets would be better for the built-up tourist areas.

“It’s just ridiculous that in this day and age there’s no toilets, we’ve all got to go to the toilet,” she said.

Her comments come after a short video of multiple campervans and four-wheel drives was posted to social media, causing others to also air their frustrations in the comments section of the post.

A “no parking” trial to curb illegal camping in the Noosa Woods and Spit areas was implemented by the council in August 2023, which included a no parking zone between 10pm and 4am and regular patrols.

In the video, which was filmed from inside a car, a dashboard clock reads 7.43pm.

A video posted to social media showed campervans and four-wheel drives lining the carpark of the Noosa Woods and Spit area. Photo: Facebook

The first two car parks at the Hastings St end of Claude Batten Drive were excluded from this trial to lessen the impact on workers and Hastings St visitors at night.

Council development and regulation director Richard MacGillivray said the council had received 84 complaints from residents about illegal camping so far in 2024, but the trial was helping to stop the issue.

“Parking officers, along with assistance from Queensland Police Service, continue to deal with those who flout the parking and camping laws with patrols conducted several times a day — including early morning and into the evening — and offenders issued with fines,” he said.

The fines vary between $77 and $116 depending on the offence, but Mr MacGillivray said an illegal camping fine was $309.

Fines can increase if the matter goes to court.

Mr MacGillivray said council was also considering extending overnight parking restrictions, increasing fines and investing in other enforcement options such as tow away signs across high-demand areas.

Originally published as Noosa Heads illegal camping crackdown: Frustrated residents, claims of human waste in national parks