Another council crackdown on kerbside caravan parking

The City of Port Phillip in Melbourne has announced an amendment to its Community Amenity Local Law, prohibiting long-term parking of caravans, boats and trailers on Council land and roads.

The latest council crackdown on kerbside trailer parking means people in the City of Port Phillip, which includes the inner city suburbs of Albert Park, Elwood, Middle Park, Ripponlea, South Melbourne, Southbank and St Kilda, will not be able to store or park a caravan, boat or trailer on a Council road or Council land for more than 14 days (within a 60-day period) after a recent amendment was made to Council laws.

Prior to this, there were no specific rules regulating how long caravans, boats, and trailers could be kept in public areas.

Related reading:

Almost 200 people shared their perspectives on the proposed change during the project's feedback stage, in addition to more than 600 people who provided feedback in October and November 2025 on the initial wording. 

“Community concerns raised during the public consultation included parking availability, public land being used for private storage, safety and visibility and amenity impacts,” City of Port Phillip CEO Chris Carroll told Caravancampingsales.

“There were also complaints about caravans and trailers causing safety issues by obscuring drivers’ sightlines and that some streets were resembling caravan or trailer parks…. One survey respondent said there were sometimes up to nine trailers, boat trailers and caravans parked in a short section of a street.”

In addition to safety issues, access to car parking was also a significant factor.

“As an inner Melbourne municipality, parking spaces are in strong demand, and a majority of respondents told us they believed boat, trailer or caravan owners should arrange storage to free up fair access to on-street public parking spots,” Carroll said.

Due to these complaints, the Council undertook a consultation.

“[This] saw 68.6 per cent of respondents supporting an amendment to not allow people to store or park a caravan, boat or trailer on a Council Road or Council land for more than 14 days within a 60-day period,” he said.

The 14 days within a 60-day period are intended to allow legitimate short-term use, loading, preparation and temporary parking, while preventing indefinite storage of private assets on public land.

“The 60-day period reduces the ability to avoid the local law by moving a caravan or trailer for a short time and then returning it to the same or a nearby location,” says Carroll.

The amendment is scheduled to come into operation on July 19, and includes parks, reserves and other land owned or managed by Council.

The infringement penalty for breaching this local law amendment is two penalty units, currently $418.

“We will not be proactively patrolling to issue fines but will follow up on complaints raised by the community,” Carroll said.

“Officers will always seek voluntary compliance before moving to any enforcement. Officer discretion will be retained for special circumstances.”

The City of Port Philip isn’t the only Council to enforce laws on caravan, trailer, and boat storage; many around Australia, including the Douglas Shire in Queensland, have also adopted similar laws.

Parking, storage and general use of caravans has become a big talking point in Australia, with RV registrations in Australia growing to more than 900,000 in 2026 and a growing number of users competing for available space.

To check local laws around caravan, trailer, and boat parking, visit your local Council website.