Melton: sleeping in your car
Council rules: prohibited without a permit
Melton City Council has been read. Under the Local Law 2025 (Melton City Council):
Melton prohibits occupying or using a tent, caravan or annexe on a road or on Council land without a permit.
A Person must not, without a Permit, and other than in accordance with the conditions of such Permit, occupy or use, or cause or allow to be occupied or used, any tent, Caravan or Annexe on a Road or Council Land.
Written as a prohibition on occupying a tent, caravan or annexe rather than on "camping", so the wording does not obviously reach a car. The instrument is titled simply Local Law 2025 — it says so in its own citation clause.
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 Melton. The closest 8 places this site holds start 177 km away, in a straight line rather than by road.
- Halls Stopping Bay Northbound, Moama177 km N in a straight line
- Halls Truck Parking Bay Southbound, Moama177 km N in a straight line
- The Keyhole Rest Area, Moama183 km N in a straight line
- Nine Mile Parking Bay Northbound, Moama190 km N in a straight line
- Eleven Mile Rest Area, Moama191 km N in a straight line
- Long Paddock Visitors Site, Mathoura196 km N in a straight line
- Mathoura Rest Area209 km N in a straight line
- Birganbigal Rest Area, Warragoon239 km N in a straight line
Where this comes from
- “A Person must not, without a Permit, and other than in accordance with the conditions of such Permit, occupy or use, or cause or allow to be occupied or used, any tent, Caravan or Annexe on a Road or Council Land.” — Local Law 2025, Melton 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.