Council calls for action on long term caravans and boats on local roads
By Sonia Isaacs
A SUNSHINE Coast Council motion calling for stronger powers to manage caravans, trailers, boats and mobile homes being stored long-term on suburban streets has won overwhelming support from councils across Queensland.
The motion, presented last week at the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Annual Conference, seeks the State Government’s collaboration in developing strategies and legislative options to assist councils in managing the issue more effectively.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli, who spoke to the motion, said residents were increasingly frustrated by streets turning into storage lots.
“This is an issue impacting our council and others across the state, with residents complaining about safety concerns, a lack of available parking and neighbourhood streets that are clogged and unsightly,” she said.
“We receive around 700 complaints a year plus thousands of signatures on petitions, and we are not alone. We are calling for the State Government to assist us with legislation to manage this for our communities.”
Councils say existing state laws leave them without practical tools to act. The proposal was supported by the LGAQ membership and will now form part of the association’s advocacy platform for the year ahead.
While no immediate policy changes will occur, the move opens the door for state-level consultation and possible legislative reform.
“There is a long way to go and there will be opportunity for public consultation before any changes are progressed,” Mayor Natoli said.
Mayor Natoli and Deputy Mayor Maria Suarez represented Sunshine Coast Council as voting delegates at the conference.
Deputy Mayor Suarez said state-level reform was needed to address long-term street parking, particularly in high-density suburbs including Aura.
“In these areas, small-lot housing and gated communities with their own restrictions often push residents to park their caravans, boats and trailers on public streets for months or even years,” she said.
“It turns public roads into makeshift storage yards.”
Cr Suarez said under current law, if vehicles are registered, councils have little power to act under Queensland’s Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995.
“The act doesn’t provide practical tools for councils to manage the issue without it affecting every vehicle,” Cr Suarez said.
“We’re proposing that the government define what a recreational vehicle is, so reforms can target long-term storage rather than ordinary use.”
She said blocked streets caused major inconvenience for locals and could even impede emergency and waste-collection access.
“Statewide reform would provide consistency and fairness. A patchwork of local laws is harder to enforce and wouldn’t reflect the different needs of communities across Queensland.”
Through the LGAQ process, the matter will now be taken up in advocacy meetings with ministers and department heads.
“What we’re advocating for is a clear classification of recreational vehicles within the Transport Operations Act,” Cr Suarez said. “That would allow councils to set vehicle-specific parking limits, and we could also explore an Unattended Property Act similar to New South Wales.”
A spokesperson for Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said councils already had “a range of options” to regulate recreational vehicle parking and that the government was “happy to work with councils to ensure local laws can meet community needs and deal with local parking challenges.”
Other Sunshine Coast Council motions endorsed by the LGAQ included funding to support homelessness accommodation models, enhanced biosecurity funding for fire ant management, increased support for roadside litter programs, and new design guidance for climate resilience — alongside the jointly sponsored motion on vehicle storage with Gold Coast City Council.