FreeCamps

Sunshine Coast: sleeping in your car

Vehicle camping: prohibited (exceptions)

Sunshine Coast Council does not permit camping on public land, parks and foreshores — including camping in a tent, in a vehicle or on the ground. Overnight camping is allowed only in approved locations, which are signed, and penalties apply for illegal camping.

The council's exception is designated, signed camping locations. Its own camping page also repeats the state rest-area rule word for word — a 20-hour fatigue stop at a signed state rest area is consistent with the council position.

Signs override this page. Whatever is signed at the site is the rule that applies, no matter what is written here.

Where this applies

The hatched area is the whole of Sunshine Coast Regional. It is the reach of the local law, not a survey of where a vehicle may park: the prohibition is on public places inside that boundary, and it says nothing about private property or a licensed caravan park. The dots are the state rest areas listed below — amber where there is a shower — and the state's own rule governs a fatigue stop at one of those even inside the hatching.

State rest areas here (32)

Where this comes from

  • “Camping is not permitted on public land, parks and foreshores. This includes camping in a tent, in a vehicle or on the ground.” — Camping and holiday parks, Sunshine Coast Council. Retrieved 30 Aug 2026.