Free camping rules in Australia, state by state

Sleeping in a vehicle on a public road or in a beach car park is almost always prohibited in built-up areas and increasingly prohibited everywhere. Rest areas on highways are usually tolerated for a single night where signed, and prohibited where signed otherwise.

The sign at the site is the rule. Not a blog, not an app, not what someone told you at a hostel. If it says no camping, a ranger will enforce it.

New South Wales coastal councils, Sydney and Byron Bay especially. Victorian coastal towns in summer. Tasmania, which has tightened rules considerably in recent years. Queensland's south-east corner.

Where enforcement is more relaxed: the Northern Territory and outback Western Australia, where distances are long and roadside stops are a practical necessity. Even there, the signed rest areas are the ones to use.

Every state runs national park campgrounds with basic facilities and low fees, usually booked online. They are not free, but they are cheap, legal, and generally in better locations than any roadside spot.

Book ahead in peak season. Popular parks fill up and turning up without a booking in January is how people end up driving another two hours.

Take your rubbish with you. Use the toilet facilities or a portable toilet, not the bushes. Do not empty grey water on the ground. Keep noise down after dark. Do not stay more than the signed limit.

Every free camp that closes closes because a minority treated it as a permanent site. The reason rules tighten is that people ignore the loose ones.

Plan your route around national park campgrounds and a couple of holiday parks a week, and treat free camping as a bonus rather than the plan. A campervan with its own power and water makes the cheap nights much more comfortable.