Illegal Camping Local Law 12 (Council Property and Other Public Places)

Our local laws increase public amenity while supporting community health and safety. Local laws guide behaviours, promote safety, harmony, and good rule in the community, making the City of Logan a better place to live.

Council is proposing to amend some of our local laws and we want to know what you think.

The changes to our local laws encourage greater health, safety, and improved amenity within our community.

The local law amendments will prohibit overnight camping on footpaths, road reserves, roadsides, or on other Council-owned or controlled land and provide a consistent definition of camping.

The purpose of the changes is to allow Council’s officers to respond to community complaints of people stopping on Council land with the intent of staying overnight, sometimes for extended periods.

The local law changes are not meant to affect people stopping for short periods during the day.

Living or sleeping in a car or caravan or camping in a public place without suitable infrastructure can create public health and safety issues and reduce the amenity of an area. Often rural, secluded or pristine bush locations attract unlawful camping, and these areas can quickly become degraded if not effectively regulated. In suburban and built-up areas camping can create road hazards while also detracting from the amenity of an area.

We acknowledge the proposed local law amendments may affect people sleeping rough and those experiencing homelessness. At Logan City Council we put community first, endeavouring to link people sleeping rough with the appropriate services and agencies.

Local Law 5 (Parks, Jetties and Boat ramps) 2011 currently prohibits camping within Council parks. The local law amendments propose to build on these powers to prohibit camping on roadsides, footpaths and other Council-owned or controlled areas. Most other South East Queensland councils already have a local law that prohibits camping on footpaths, road reserves, and the roadside. The proposed changes will bring Logan City Council in line with other councils in the region.

The camping sites at Hugh Muntz Park or Tully Park will continue to be free to camp for up to 3 nights. We encourage the recreational use of natural habitat with suitable infrastructure (e.g. toilet, shower, waste disposal) as it provides an ideal opportunity for residents and visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the City of Logan.

The following local law is available for comment during this time and can be viewed via the documents link on the right:

• Amending Local Law No. 1 (Miscellaneous Local Laws) 2022

A tracked change (consolidated) version of each of the affected local laws is provided below:

• Local Law No. 5 (Parks, Jetties and Boat Ramps) 2011
• Local Law No. 11 (Roads) 1999
• Local Law No. 12 (Council Property and Other Public Places) 2003

Please note that consultation is on the amendments only; therefore, only feedback made on the proposed amendments will be considered as valid submissions.

The proposed local law amendments are available for community feedback from Wednesday, 13 October 2021 until 5pm on Wednesday, 10 November 2021.