Dozens of homeless residents of Moreton Bay in south-east Queensland will soon be fined for sleeping in parks, as the local council has changed its local law to effectively ban homelessness. The council voted to repeal its persons experiencing homelessness camping framework, making it “illegal for all people to camp on public land,” according to the council’s CEO, Scott Waters. This change will come into force on March 12 and will see homeless people issued a compliance notice requiring them to move on, with fines as a consequence. Waters claims that the health and safety of homeless people is core to this change, and eliminating the framework will enable individuals to get the support they need. Councillor Jodie Shipway, who recently served as acting mayor, said she had visited homeless encampments like Gayundah Park, describing them as a public health risk. The motion to eliminate the 2021 policy, which provided an exemption for those with nowhere else to go, passed with all but two councillors voting in favor. Council staff explained that the move-on notices would likely be issued in response to complaints from other residents. Moreton Bay has the longest social housing waiting list in Queensland, with a 90% increase in homelessness in the last decade. The state government’s housing services are already overstretched, and two councillors spoke against the repeal of the framework, stating that removing it without a backup plan would set vulnerable people up for greater hardship. A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Public Works did not answer questions about whether they could house additional homeless residents from Moreton Bay.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/27/moreton-bay-council-camping-ban-homeless-evictions