Free Booking (or Fees Refunded) of Parks Victoria’s Campgrounds between 1 Dec 2024 & 30 Jun 2025 (Exclusions Apply)

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Free Booking (or Fees Refunded) of Parks Victoria’s Campgrounds between 1 Dec 2024 & 30 Jun 2025 (Exclusions Apply)
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Langras on 17/10/2024 - 12:51 parks.vic.gov.au (2186 clicks)
Last edited 17/10/2024 - 13:34 by 1 other user

Camping in 131 of Parks Victoria’s paid campgrounds will be free of charge between 1 December 2024 and 30 June 2025. There are a small number of sites excluded - refer to the parks vic website.

Existing bookings for this period will be honoured and refunded.

Camping fees will be changed to ‘free’ in the coming weeks. If you wish to book a campsite now to go camping from 1 December 2024 to 31 May 2025, you can. However, you will need to pay the normal camping fees, and you will receive a refund in the coming weeks.

Bookings are essential, even though there is no charge. There is a maximum booking limit of two sites per campground in a single transaction.

Sports & Outdoors Camping

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Comments

  • JuryWheel on 17/10/2024 - 13:19
    +17

    I guess this is anti ozb, but i dont understand why they would do this. Wilsons Prom is hugely popular (and very affordable!) and the money raised from campsites is used for all sorts of positive projects - where is the money going to come from now?

    • douevenozbargain on 17/10/2024 - 13:21

      Agree completley

    • blldzd on 17/10/2024 - 13:33
      +6

      Looks like it only cost the Vic Government 9 mil and they are hoping to recoup the costs through increased tourism / more families getting out to regional areas and spending their money.

      • blldzd on 17/10/2024 - 13:35
        +3

        I said 'only' because the industry is worth $2.1 billion a year to the Victorian economy (per the above website)

      • 1st-Amendment on 18/10/2024 - 08:37
        -3

        Looks like it only cost the Vic taxpayers 9 mil

        FTFY

        • blldzd on 18/10/2024 - 08:45
          +8

          I don't think it's controversial to say that most people are fine with their taxes going toward national parks and campgrounds. Let's leave that seppo libertarian shit over in that rotting country.

          • 1st-Amendment on 18/10/2024 - 15:35
            -5

            @blldzd:

            to say that most people are fine with

            Why do you think you speak for most people? You have precisely one opinion and I have also have precisely one. It's the thinking that you speak for everyone else that is a big part of these types of problems.

            Let's leave that seppo libertarian shit

            You mean having a basic understanding where taxes comes from is 'sEpPo LiBeRtArIaN sHiT'? The universe must be a complicated place from where you sit…

            • blldzd on 18/10/2024 - 16:02
              +4

              @1st-Amendment: Mate you clearly just come on here to argue with people. I think you would benefit from some fresh air, maybe a free camping trip.

              • 1st-Amendment on 18/10/2024 - 17:22
                -4

                @blldzd:

                Mate you clearly just come on here to argue with people

                You're the one who seemed to be triggered by a simple comment with the 'sEpPo LiBeRtArIaN sHiT' response… I suggest you take some of your own advice…

    • mapax on 17/10/2024 - 13:39
      +4

      You’ve probably heard that the Vic government wants to change a large area of land from state parks/forests into a national park which will effectively be a ban on rec-reg dirt bikes, 4x4ing and hunting.

      A part of me can’t help but think this free camping is somehow tied to that, but I’m going to need a new tinfoil hat before I can figure out how exactly…

    • 1st-Amendment on 18/10/2024 - 08:36
      -7

      where is the money going to come from now?

      The same place it always comes from, taxpayers. Don't you just love socialism?

      • Igaf on 23/10/2024 - 23:32

        Still having trouble with simple concepts I see. I suspect even the dullest pseudo-libertarian conservative knows that govts underwrite business in a multitude of ways. Some might even be able to grasp the many reasons why.

        Businesses certainly don't seem to have any problem putting their hands out for welfare or being bailed out by taxpayers even if they don't need assistance in some cases. Nor do conservative govts have an issue with doling out taxpayer dosh without any strings attached. So where does that leave your quaint notions of "socialism" and capitalism? Rhetorical question.

  • cbpeh1 on 17/10/2024 - 13:31
    +3

    I feel like a system like this will be so easily abused.
    It does not make any sense.

  • jimboner on 17/10/2024 - 13:36
    +7

    Agreed, what is to stop people from booking and not showing up?

    Or for some prawn to book out the whole campsite…great way to have a private campsite

    • Wolfy on 17/10/2024 - 14:44

      The system only allows reserving 2x campsites at the same location per person.

      So you'd need multiple accounts/emails/car-rego and to ignore the pop-up checkbox that says you can't book more than 2 sites.
      … not that hard, but it does take a bit of effort.

  • stickingly on 17/10/2024 - 13:37
    +8

    So now there will lots of people booking and then not showing up?

    • angras on 17/10/2024 - 13:54
      +2

      Maybe, but most of the popular sites will already be booked out for summer, and those bookings get refunded. That’s a big win for people who have already booked.
      And for now, you still need to pay first and then get refund later, so maybe this won’t be abused until Parks Vic update the booking system to show $0

      • Wolfy on 17/10/2024 - 14:45

        It's updated now (for the vast majority of places).

  • urbancartel on 17/10/2024 - 13:47

    What are the small number of sites excluded ( can't find the info or Parks website)

    • angras on 17/10/2024 - 13:55
      +4

      “Fees will continue to apply for roofed accommodation like huts and cabins at Wilsons Promontory, the unique pre-pitched Discovery Tents at Point Nepean National Park, and remote hike-in campgrounds along the Grampians Peaks Trail.”

  • Wolfy on 17/10/2024 - 14:41
    +1

    Thanks OP, I had not seen the announcement.

    Booked 3x camping trips … the hot showers will be a nice touch that we don't usually get when camping.

  • besttechadvisor on 17/10/2024 - 15:28
    -1

    They're hoping to make more back with the $300+ fines when you don't show up

  • Big Sexy Unit on 17/10/2024 - 15:53
    +1

    so safe to assume most paid sold-out campsites will be full of empty spots all summer

    • Horacio on 17/10/2024 - 16:01
      +8

      Exactly. I feel this is a bad plan. Maybe it needs to be based on a refund you can apply for once they check that you were actually there.

      • Igaf on 25/10/2024 - 20:11

        I think you have the wrong end of the stick. Anyone who has booked and paid prior to the booking changes will have their fees refunded - as you'd expect given fees are being waived. It's irrelevant whether they turn up or not.

    • starspawn on 25/10/2024 - 18:45

      I really doubt that, people are still going to camp for that period. What else would they do with their kids?

    • Igaf on 25/10/2024 - 19:57

      Existing bookings for this period will be honoured and refunded.

      Don't see your logic. If they were sold out when it cost to book why would there suddenly be vacancies when booking is free?

  • Nedkellyinthebush on 17/10/2024 - 18:59
    +3

    They should do this for lesser known campsites only. Leave the fees on the hugely popular ones. Tourism would be more spread out this way.

  • Mischaseb on 17/10/2024 - 20:55
    +2

    This is annoying. The sites were cheap already. Just going to result in people hoarding spots and not turning up.

    • Cheaplikethebird on 18/10/2024 - 09:38

      They should at least limit the booking timeframe for the free spots to one month. I feel like there will be a bunch of bookings made now for the late summer period that will be completely forgotten about when the time comes.

  • godspeed4476 on 17/10/2024 - 21:35
    +3

    This is only going to push people into private camping locations. People are just gonna book and not show up. There should have been a system put in for refunds after proving you have camped

  • davebern on 18/10/2024 - 07:43

    Great initiative.
    Encouraging more people to get outdoors and get active is a good thing.
    More tourist 💰 into regional Victorian businesses is another positive 😀

    • 1st-Amendment on 18/10/2024 - 08:40
      -6

      Encouraging more people to get outdoors and get active is a good thing.

      If you think it's great why don't you fund it yourself? Why is it that other people have to pay for things you want?

  • foodsnob on 18/10/2024 - 08:42

    maybe should adopt the NSW model after COVID. Have a booking system that only charges you a booking fee that covers the cost of running the IT. I think it was around $6 for 1 booking regardless of how many nights you stay. That way, you don't have some uncommitted people just hogging up camping spots.

  • paullovesbargains on 18/10/2024 - 09:24
    +2

    Do they really think $10 or so a night is the deterrent to people going to these campsites. Double the fees and build a whole lot more sites in the popular areas. Turn our parks into a tourism industry so we can justify not logging them. Truly not logging them I mean. Not saying we will stop and doing even more. There is huge demand for camping these days after domestic and o/s travel got too expensive.

  • Mr BoMBAStiG on 18/10/2024 - 11:36

    Hot tip: grey nomads book out huge chunks of multiple sites as they don't have set dates on arrival and departure as they plod around Australia. Even with paying sites, they will cop the few bucks to ensure they have a spot.

    If I'm going somewhere and it's booked out and it's not a long weekend, I'll just rock up. There has always been space. If anyone asks I'll just say I tried booking and I thought it worked but never got a confirmation.
    This doesn't apply for the few spots that actually allocate you a designated and marked spot.

  • SYLTB on 19/10/2024 - 16:15

    They all should be free nationwide infinitely. They are public properties. Foreign tourists should be charged not me.
    Everywhere is fenced I cannot walk up to any hill. I already pay my GST, Tax, traffic infringements, council rates et etc to the governments.

  • fullmetal on 19/10/2024 - 22:05
    -1

    is this the solution for housing crisis?

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