Proposed freedom camping restrictions in the Queenstown Lakes District open for community feedback

Formal submissions on Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025 / Ture ā-Rohe mō te Noho Puni Korehere 2025 opened today (Tuesday 8 July). 

The draft bylaw has been informed by a robust technical assessment that identified and examined which areas of the district need to be protected, and includes provisions to manage freedom camping on land controlled or managed by QLDC (and some Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Authority land) to protect the area, access to the area, or the health and safety of visitors to the area. 

Under the draft bylaw, freedom camping will be allowed in certain areas but subject to specific conditions including time restrictions, only using specified parking spaces, leaving no waste, lighting no fires, and a requirement for vehicles to be certified as self-contained with a toilet and grey water facilities. 

Some of the key proposals in the draft bylaw include: 

• Prohibiting freedom camping on most roads including any on-road vehicle parking spaces (i.e., parallel, angle, etc spaces) located within the district’s built-up urban areas, including residential, town centre, commercial, and other business areas. 

• Allowing freedom camping with restrictions in 158 carparking spaces across 15 specified areas in the district. 

• Allowing freedom camping on most rural roads (including any areas off the active road corridor such as off-road laybys), subject to restrictions such as how close to the road a freedom camper can park themselves.  

The draft bylaw does not propose to regulate freedom camping on any reserve land or privately owned land. Camping on reserves will continue to be administered under the Reserves Act 1977. Freedom camping cannot occur on private land or roads without the permission of the landowner. 

The draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025, a statement of proposal, maps of areas where freedom camping is proposed to be prohibited or restricted, and a submission form are all available on QLDC’s Let’s Talk engagement platform at https://letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/.  

Those interested in the freedom camping proposals are also encouraged to attend either one of two public drop-in sessions being held in Frankton and Wānaka next week. Those who cannot make these events are welcome to attend an online webinar held in late July. 

Public drop-in sessions will take place at: 

• Queenstown Events Centre 5.00pm-7.00pm on Monday 14 July 

• Wānaka Recreation Centre 5.00pm-7.00pm on Tuesday 15 July. 

The online webinar will take place at midday on Monday 28 July. Details and registration information for the webinar are available on the Let’s Talk engagement platform. 

The results of the consultation will be considered by a hearing panel made up of councillors and will help to inform any changes to the draft bylaw ahead of it being adopted. The bylaw is expected to be finalised and in place before summer 2025-2026. 

Queenstown Lakes District is known to be one of the most popular camping destinations in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the most popular place for overnight ‘free camping’ with more than double the total number of overnight campers in 2024 than the next most popular territorial authority area. 

The popularity of freedom camping has significantly increased in recent years; between 2008 and 2018 the estimated number of international visitors practicing freedom camping in New Zealand rose from 10,000 to 123,000. 

The Freedom Camping Act 2011 permits freedom camping by default on most Council land in New Zealand. Camping on reserves, other than Luggate Red Bridge, is not permitted under the Reserves Act 1977.

While the Freedom Camping Act 2011 prevents councils from prohibiting freedom camping across all their land, they can create bylaws with rules to manage the activity’s impacts in order to protect areas, access to them, and the health and safety of visitors to those areas. 

QLDC does not currently have a freedom camping bylaw in place. While a comprehensive Responsible Camping Programme was in place for the recent summer period that aimed to educate campers and reduce instances of poor behaviour, the absence of a bylaw meant that Council could not regulate freedom camping on all land managed or controlled by QLDC.  

ENDS | KUA MUTU.

Media contact: communications@qldc.govt.nz or call 03 441 1802.

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri:

QLDC Draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025: https://letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/96579/widgets/447504/documents/312543 

Statement of Proposal - Draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2025: https://letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/96579/widgets/447504/documents/312542 

Interactive Map of Prohibited and Restricted Freedom Camping Areas: https://gis.qldc.govt.nz/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=638ff71901734d7bb4f0723093733273

Webinar registration link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/9ead6605-b9c4-45bf-92d6-37cb195ffe4f@fd982879-2e15-4623-87e7-7331d1d8a860