Darebin: sleeping in your car
Council rules: prohibited without a permit
Darebin City Council has been read. Under the Darebin Community Amenity Local Law 2025:
Darebin prohibits camping in or on any public place in a vehicle, tent, caravan or any temporary or provisional form of accommodation other than in accordance with a permit.
Unless in accordance with a permit, a person must not camp in or on any public place in a vehicle, tent, caravan or any type of temporary or provisional form of accommodation.
Names a vehicle expressly, and the drafting is deliberately open-ended after it — "any type of temporary or provisional form of accommodation".
Signs override this page. Whatever is signed at the site is the rule that applies, no matter what is written here.
What applies here regardless
The local law above is this council’s own. What is settled state-wide, and applies outside a council area, is where camping is allowed in Victoria.
In Victoria you can camp anywhere in a state forest, provided you set up at least 20 metres from waterways and stay no longer than 28 consecutive nights.
State forests are not national parks or state parks. Those are managed by Parks Victoria under different rules, and forest reserves are different again — in a forest reserve you may camp only in the official campgrounds the land manager provides, not in informal spots.
Nearest places with a published rule
The state road network has no mapped rest area inside Darebin. The closest 8 places this site holds start 185 km away, in a straight line rather than by road.
- Halls Stopping Bay Northbound, Moama185 km N in a straight line
- Halls Truck Parking Bay Southbound, Moama185 km N in a straight line
- The Keyhole Rest Area, Moama191 km N in a straight line
- Nine Mile Parking Bay Northbound, Moama196 km N in a straight line
- Eleven Mile Rest Area, Moama197 km N in a straight line
- Long Paddock Visitors Site, Mathoura201 km N in a straight line
- Mathoura Rest Area215 km N in a straight line
- Corowa Service Centre231 km NE in a straight line
Where this comes from
- “Unless in accordance with a permit, a person must not camp in or on any public place in a vehicle, tent, caravan or any type of temporary or provisional form of accommodation.” — Community Amenity Local Law 2025, Darebin City Council. Retrieved 1 Sep 2026.
- “You can camp anywhere in a state forest if you set up at least 20 metres from waterways and stay no longer than 28 consecutive nights.” — Camping — Visiting State forests, Victorian Government, Conservation Regulator. Retrieved 30 Aug 2026.
- “State forests are different to national parks and state parks, which are managed by Parks Victoria and have different rules.” “In forest reserves (general): You can camp in the official campgrounds provided by the land manager but not in informal locations where there are no facilities.” — Visiting State forests, Victorian Government, Conservation Regulator. Retrieved 30 Aug 2026.