Draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025

Councils are given the power to create freedom camping bylaws under Central Government’s Freedom Camping Act 2011.

The Freedom Camping Act allows certified self-contained freedom camping anywhere on local authority land, unless that land has restrictions or prohibitions placed on it by other legislation or bylaws (such as the Reserves Act or a freedom camping bylaw).

Freedom camping is defined in the Act as camping (other than at a campground) within 200m of the following: an area accessible by motor vehicle, the mean low-water springs line, sea, harbour, a formed road or a Great Walks track using either: a tent or other temporary structure, a motor vehicle.

People experiencing homelessness are not considered to be freedom camping under the Act, and therefore councils cannot enforce freedom camping rules against people who are unable to find suitable accommodation.

Under the Government’s Act councils can restrict or ban freedom camping in specific areas via a bylaw, however, there are strict criteria for doing so and they cannot ban freedom camping in their district entirely.

The reasons councils are allowed to ban or restrict freedom camping include protecting an area, protecting the health and safety of people who visit an area or protecting access to an area. Other factors such as commercial interests, property rights and the health and safety of nearby residents cannot be used to justify a restriction or prohibition under the Act.

The Freedom Camping Act enables councils to issue fines ranging from $400-$2400.

This review is necessary to determine the future of the Anzac Parade and Taupo Quay freedom camping sites, which are temporarily closed for safety reasons – primarily due to anti-social behaviour.

The council has very limited ability to manage these issues due to the 'homelessness exemption' in Central Government's Freedom Camping Act. Our perspective is that the safety issues which resulted in closure of these sites could escalate if they are opened to camping again. As a result, we propose to continue the approach of keeping these sites closed to camping.

For Anzac Parade (which is technically on a reserve) we propose to remove this area as a restricted site from the bylaw and manage it more simply under the Reserves Act instead. The Reserves Act strictly prohibits camping/ the setting up of temporary accommodation and gives the council slightly more legal powers to infringe anyone who breaks this rule.

The Taupo Quay site is not on reserve land and because Government’s Freedom Camping Act technically allows freedom camping anywhere on public land (unless another act or bylaw prevents this), the only way for councils to stop freedom camping in this area is to prohibit it under a bylaw. Prohibition prevents freedom campers from staying in an area where anti-social behaviour has escalated and caused safety issues before.

Check out our statement of proposal(PDF, 981KB) for more information. 

The Moutoa Quay site provides an important contribution to our local economy (with campers here spending an average of $148 per person, per day). The site also offers additional CBD accommodation during large events.

The key issue at this site relates to its dual use as a popular parking spot. There is lack of space for people to safely enter/exit campervans and cars when the site is full. Some campervans also end up covering the footpath due to their length, creating accessibility issues.

To manage the site, the proposal is to restrict freedom camping at this site to the hours of 5pm to 8am.

In addition, the current bylaw enables non-self-contained camping at this site - we’re proposing to align the site with the new national default of requiring a certified self-contained vehicle.

Check out our statement of proposal for more information.

The Whanganui River Road was included as a ‘restricted site’ in the bylaw in 2021 to offer it more protections (namely, to require campers to be self-contained). An unintended consequence is that restricted sites tend to be visited by tourists more. The River Road in its entirety is not considered by council to be appropriate for freedom camping.

Council has assessed three strong possible options for this road, each designed to offer more protection to this area, but in slightly different ways.

Option 1 (included in the draft bylaw): reduce the size of the Whanganui River Road restricted site to Otumaire only. Restrict freedom camping to two nights and four vehicles and include a 2500m buffer zone which prohibits camping nearby this site.

This option still allows for a small amount of freedom camping tourists; however, it effectively channels them to a specific site which is maintained by the council and includes a toilet – rather than the entire road.

Option 2: Remove the Whanganui River Road as a restricted site from the bylaw.

Under this option, freedom campers may be unlikely to venture up this road at all – as it no longer features as a restricted site in the bylaw. Where freedom campers do visit, there would no longer be any time limits around how long they can stay, but council can still fine campers who damage flora/fauna, leave waste or are not certified self-contained.

Option 3: Prohibit freedom camping along the Whanganui River Road.

This is the strictest possible option and is likely to discourage freedom campers from travelling this road entirely.

Check out our statement of proposal for more information.

The proposed closure of Anzac Parade and Taupo Quay does limit the capacity of the council’s restricted sites, and we’re proposing to increase the number of campers allowed at some of our other sites to help off-set this.

Castlecliff Beach

This is currently our most popular freedom camping spot. Campers we surveyed had positive things to say about their experience here, and reported spending an average of $126 per person, per day during their visit.

The bylaw currently allows 10 campers at the Castlecliff Beach site, however, over the 2024/25 summer period there was frequently upwards of 20 vehicles, with a high of 35. This is because there are no demarcated parking bays for freedom campers at the site, which means enforcement officers are unable to determine who arrived last and exceeded the vehicle cap. Despite this, there have been relatively few complaints related to freedom camping at this site.

The council's proposed option for Castlecliff Beach is to increase the number of vehicles permitted from 10 to 'any', but vehicles must park in demarcated bays. The demarcated bays could accommodate approximately 20 freedom campers, depending on vehicle size. Any freedom campers parked outside of these areas would attract enforcement attention.

In addition, the current bylaw enables non-self-contained camping at Castlecliff Beach. We’re proposing to align the site with the national default of requiring a self-contained vehicle.

Jubilee Stadium

The Jubilee Stadium site features large, demarcated parking bays for freedom campers. Sometimes smaller freedom camping vehicles will share these larger bays together, however, freedom campers have said they are unsure whether this is against the rules or not. The council proposes to enable and encourage this practice through our bylaw.

The council's proposed option is to increase the total number of freedom campers allowed at Jubilee Stadium from 10 to 'any' but continue to require that they park within the existing demarcated freedom camping parks. This change will allow approximately 15 campers (depending on the size of the vehicles) and make our bylaw clearer and more friendly to freedom campers.

Westmere Lake

This site has a very low visitor count at present; however, we expect that both the closure of other sites and the increased enforcement at Castlecliff Beach will mean freedom campers begin to consider other restricted sites. To date, we have had very few issues reported at the Westmere Lake site. The council’s proposed option is to increase the vehicle cap at this site from three to five.  

Check out our statement of proposal(PDF, 981KB) for more information.

We are proposing a few tidy ups/clarifications to aid understanding of the bylaw at the Castlecliff Beach site (which is spread across two areas). We also want to ensure that we are managing areas under the Reserves Act, rather than a Freedom Camping Bylaw prohibition, where possible.

Check out our statement of proposal for more information.

The Freedom Camping Act allows councils to create bylaws to restrict or limit freedom camping for the purposes of protecting an area or access to it, or for protecting the health and safety of people who visit an area. Councils cannot prohibit freedom camping in their districts entirely.

Whanganui District Council first created a Freedom Camping Bylaw in 2021. Our bylaw includes restrictions such as limiting how long people can freedom camp in certain areas, what types of vehicles or tents they can use, and how many vehicles can be freedom camping at any one time. Our bylaw gives us the power to fine people who break these rules.

To be clear, it is not the council allowing freedom camping, it is council putting rules or restrictions around it to manage freedom camping. That said, the council is very limited in the level of regulation we are allowed to have over freedom camping under Central Government’s Act.

Homelessness/anti-social behaviour: People experiencing homelessness have often resided at freedom camping sites in Whanganui as they provide access to important amenities. However, in some cases anti-social and sometimes criminal behaviour has also occurred. The Act’s homelessness exemption means the council has a very limited ability to manage this, if the people involved are also unable to find suitable accommodation.

Self-containment requirements: A significant change since the bylaw was introduced in 2021 is that freedom campers are now required to be certified self-contained as a default. Some freedom camping sites still permit non-self-contained campers, requiring a review.

Tourism growth: Since 2021, Whanganui has experienced a growth in tourism. For example, the amount tourists spent in Whanganui increased by 8% in 2022, 23% in 2023 and 10% in 2024. We also have an accommodation shortage in Whanganui, particularly during large events.

Anzac Parade and Taupo Quay sites currently closed: This review is also necessary to determine the future of the Anzac Parade and Taupo Quay freedom camping sites, which are currently closed.

According to the government’s Freedom Camping Act, freedom camping bylaw rules do not apply to people who are homeless. The number of people who are homeless in Whanganui has grown in recent years, and people experiencing homelessness will often stay at popular freedom camping sites as they provide important facilities/amenities and are close to the CBD.

The Freedom Camping Act was updated in 2023 to clarify that people who are currently homeless (defined in the Act as ‘unable to find suitable accommodation’) are exempt from freedom camping rules – including those set out in council bylaws. The rationale is that while freedom camping is a choice, homelessness is not.

Many people experiencing homelessness have resided at freedom camping sites around the district without issue. However, where anti-social and sometimes criminal behaviour has also occurred, the Act’s homelessness exemption means the council has a very limited ability to manage this, if the people involved are also unable to find suitable accommodation.

The Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have the lead responsibility for addressing homelessness. However, the council has been stepping in to fill the gap as the housing crisis has worsened over the past few years.

Freedom camping is a popular, low-cost accommodation option for domestic and international visitors who might not otherwise visit our district. Within Whanganui, most freedom campers are domestic travellers and tend to be over 50 years with an average spend of $120 per person, per day.

Over the 2024/25 summer period (Nov- Feb) we had more than 1400 freedom campers visit our district. Council administered intercept surveys with 65 freedom campers over the summer, and nearly half said they were unlikely to have visited Whanganui if they were not freedom camping.

Freedom campers take part in a range of activities during their visit, including shopping, visiting our museums and galleries, attending events like the Saturday Markets and Vintage Weekend, as well as enjoying our awa, beaches, fishing and surfing.

Nearly all freedom campers choose to stay at the nine ‘restricted sites’ laid out in the current bylaw.