‘Harebrained’: Free camping policy scrapped after ghost campers, empty sites

Tourism operators in regional communities and avid campers are breathing a sigh of relief after the Allan government dumped a free camping initiative that they say did more harm than good.

Critics remain furious the government pushed ahead with the “harebrained” policy, despite warnings from the outset it would negatively impact national parks, hurt local communities and put enormous pressure on cash-strapped Parks Victoria.

Campsites across the popular Wilsons Promontory National Park were “deserted” during the free camping initiative. Credit: Eddie JIm

The initiative, announced in October by Premier Jacinta Allan and Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos, gave campers free access to all of the state’s 131 formerly paid Parks Victoria campgrounds from December 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. They estimated it would save campers $7.3 million – with booking fees costing up to $40 a night for more popular areas.

While it resulted in an enormous rise in bookings – up 93 per cent from the year before, according to Parks Victoria – the initiative was beset with problems. Many campers who secured spots were no-shows, leaving some of the state’s most popular campsites desolate over peak periods. Meanwhile, caravan park rates soared and rubbish dumping increased.

Gippsland East MP Tim Bull and fellow Nationals MP Melina Bath warned against the policy from the outset and continually raised concerns to the government over its six-month lifespan.

Bull said campsites within his electorate usually full from Boxing Day through to the middle of January were, at best, two-thirds full – meaning thousands fewer campers in East Gippsland.

“It was a debacle over Christmas,” Bull said. “I raised it again prior to Easter and said, ‘We don’t want our peak tourist season camp parks with 50 per cent vacancies like we had over Christmas.’

“It wasn’t fixed for Easter, and it happened again ... We’re still recovering from fires and COVID down here that were back to back, and we rely on our campsites being full for our local communities.”

Budget papers released on Tuesday confirmed the initiative would not be renewed. Instead, the government has reverted to half-price fees – a program that has been in place since 2019 – as of July 1.

Victorian National Parks Association campaigner Jordan Crook lashed the government for failing to consult interest groups. Credit: Aaron Francis

Robin Parker, an avid camper who spent most of his summer camping at Wilsons Promontory, said he had never seen campsites – including the popular Tidal River site – so empty. “Even though [the booking site] said the campsite was totally booked out, it was literally less than half full,” he said. “It’s a really poor policy, really poorly thought out and implemented.”

The policy also disadvantaged caravan park operators, according to Scott Parker, head of Caravan and Residential Parks Victoria.

Parker said caravan parks across the state, specifically the Gippsland and Great Ocean Road regions, had reported a downturn in bookings and revenue.

He added that operators faced “unfair and anticompetitive” conditions during the policy’s six-month lifespan.

“Unfortunately, our regional communities and visitor economies did not benefit from the rollout of free camping,” he said. “Ghost camping was widespread – an outcome that was foreseen and clearly communicated by the association to government during the policy’s implementation.”

Jordan Crook, a campaigner for the Victorian National Parks Association, described the policy as an “added burden” to an already overwhelmed and underfunded park service. A month before the free camping program was announced, the government had slashed Parks Victoria’s funding by about $95 million.

“There was not much consultation with Parks Victoria, but also other park visitor and friends groups and the like who look after the parks,” Crook said. “It seems like a harebrained idea that was coming from a good place. It just hit straight on with the chronic underfunding and undermining of Parks Victoria by the Allan government.”

Dimopoulos did not respond to detailed questions about the criticism levelled at the policy.

A Victorian government spokesperson said: “We introduced free camping over summer to get more Victorian families out having holidays in the regions and putting money back in their pockets, and now we’re keeping it affordable for families with a $10.5 million investment to keep camping fees at half price at Parks Victoria’s 131 bookable campsites for another two years.”

Parks Victoria declined to answer questions about the policy when approached by The Age. Instead, Lisa Patroni, the organisation’s executive director of marketing, said: “Since 2019, half-price camping has made the outdoors more accessible than ever for Victorian families, and we’re delighted it will continue.”

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