How much would you pay for this view?
How about nothin’?
Why pay for oceanfront real estate when you can roll in, park overnight, and wake up to million-dollar views for free?
That’s the philosophy some travellers are taking, as beachfront car parks across the coast become makeshift campgrounds—much to the frustration of locals hunting for a spot.
Beachfront car parks across the 4551 area have morphed into free camping hotspots, with several vans parked at Dicky Beach, Shelley Beach, Golden Beach and Moffat Beach day and night, leaving locals eager for a swim with fewer options to park their cars for an hour.
While Council works to crack down on illegal camping along the coast, the trend points to a deeper issue—rising homelessness fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis.
Sunshine Coast Business Council chair Sandy Zubrinich said there was an urgent need for government to explore all options to deal with ongoing population growth and resulting homelessness in the region.
“Housing shortages and the resulting social issues have become a national crisis, with all levels of government needing to take urgent action to address this dire current situation,” Ms Zubrinich said.
“All levels of government have responded in some way to the escalating housing shortages with initiatives such as funding assistance, shared ownership of homes with government investment, and proposals to increase land supply all being considered.
“Despite the responses to date, many of these government programs have already fallen behind new housing targets for a variety of reasons, leading to calls for local councils and state governments to expedite the release of land supply and cut red tape to fast-track housing.”
Ms Zubrinich said the recent announcement of social housing projects across Caloundra, Nirimba and Banya was welcomed, but more needed to be done to meet the volume of housing needed.
“There isn’t a person on the Sunshine Coast that hasn’t seen the impact – people couch surfing, sleeping in cars, on the beach, in tents under bridges and in commercial doorways,” she said.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said Council addressed illegal camping on a complaints basis.
“It is important to note that Council does not consider people experiencing homelessness to be camping,” the spokesperson said.
“Council officers regularly attend various locations across the Sunshine Coast in response to complaints of illegal camping and concerns for people experiencing homelessness.
“In cases where people are camping illegally, Council generally educates in the first instance and issues infringements where unlawful camping continues. The infringement for camping unlawfully is $309.”
The spokesperson said Council worked closely with other levels of government to address the housing affordability crisis.
“Council works closely with State services to link people to options for housing and support and assist to escalate support for people at high risk (such as children and people leaving domestic violence situations),” the spokesperson said.
“We endorsed the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan in 2023 – reinforcing Council’s commitment to facilitating affordable and diverse housing options and to build our capacity to respond to homelessness and support community-led initiatives.”
The State and Federal government are responsible for delivering community and social housing which includes emergency accommodation.
If you are experiencing homelessness or domestic and family violence you can call:
- Housing Service Centre phone (07) 5352 7333
- Homeless Hotline phone 1800 474 753
- DVConnect phone 1800 811 811
The Sunshine Coast Housing and Homelessness Directory contains details for organisations that are providing services to people experiencing homelessness.
