The Shire of Augusta Margaret River has introduced a collaborative way of problem-solving and working with our community to address illegal camping and peak season pressures.
Since last peak season, we have been working with residents from Augusta, Gracetown, Gnarabup, Barrett Street Weir and surrounding areas to identify local problems and propose practical place-based solutions.
These ideas shaped an initial three-year roadmap that reflects community insight and local realities, with each year building on the previous as we transparently test responses and outcomes. The roadmap will continue to evolve as council and community work together.
At the Special Council Meeting on 12 November, Council formally endorsed this approach of bringing diverse community members together to form an ongoing Illegal Camping and Peak Season Community Working Group and approved an allocation of $30,000 to progress ‘quick win’ actions identified by the community for the 2025/26 summer season.
Shire President Julia Jean-Rice said that the Shire was looking forward to managing this complex issue side-by-side with the community.
“For years, residents have raised concerns about the impacts of illegal camping and peak season pressures,” said President Jean-Rice.
“These impacts are real and felt daily by our community – human waste in public spaces, safety concerns in car parks, reduced access to beaches and natural areas, and pressure on local amenity.”
“We know it’s been a persistent issue, and our aim is to work more transparently and collaboratively with our community to better manage it. Traditional responses to illegal camping have relied on enforcement, and while that remains an essential tool, experience shows that fines alone are not effective.”
“These complex community issues require nuance, local knowledge, sustained attention, and the kind of adaptive problem-solving that can only come from genuine partnership between community and council.”
“It’s also really important to note that not all campers are the same – some are people experiencing homelessness.”
From March and April 2025, we held thirteen community meetings, drawing participation from around 20 residents who shared their experiences and ideas.
Shire President Julia Jean-Rice said that community members proposed practical solutions spanning enforcement, infrastructure, education and collaboration.
“The new initiatives that we’re trialing this year will help make a difference in the short term, and we’re committed to working side-by-side with our community to continuously improve by monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting our approach over the years.”
“Based on the community group’s feedback, we are going to explore installing gates to manage access at Barrett Street Weir, but we will consult with the broader community before pursuing this option.”
Ahead of the 2025/26 peak season, the Shire is now working on implementing Shire-wide actions including increasing fines for illegal camping to $200, adjusting Ranger patrol routes and maintaining randomised schedules, improving our signage and messaging, and working more closely with DBCA to strengthen collaboration between our Rangers.
Looking ahead, the community working group will operate as an advisory body to inform illegal camping actions over time, including identifying emerging problem areas, co-designing solutions informed by local knowledge and operational constraints, informing an annual budget for locally prioritised actions, monitoring implementation and evaluating results through evidence and community feedback.
A comprehensive post-season evaluation report will be provided to Council in early 2026, informing budget priorities and roadmap refinement for the following year.
After summer we will review the membership of the Peak Season Community Working Group. If you would like to register your interest to join the group, please email [email protected]