Extraordinary Meeting - Holiday Van Outcome

Published on 14 April 2025

At an Extraordinary Meeting held on Friday11 April, Clarence Valley Council resolved to reissue site Occupation Agreements to Holiday Van owners Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water, and Wooli Holiday Parks where compliance conditions can be met.

Importantly, this decision removes the option for staff discretion to be applied to issuing Agreements for the period commencing 1 July 2025, which the March 2025 Resolution allowed.

The new Occupation Agreements must comply with the Holiday Park (Long-term Casual Occupation) Act 2002 (NSW), which requires that occupants have a primary place of residence off-site of the Holiday Park. Individuals living in their holiday vans on a full-time basis will not meet the compliance requirements and will need to relocate their Holiday Vans to permanent sites elsewhere.

Before a new Occupation Agreement can be issued, all Holiday Van compliance requirements as outlined in the Occupation Agreement will need to be met in accordance with the decision of Council.

Council continues to work with affected Holiday Van owners, including supporting relocation to permanent sites offered by a Holiday Park in Ballina for those unable to comply with the new agreement due to their current arrangement of residing full-time onsite, which is not compliant with their signed Agreement. Council will also be undertaking compliance audits of Holiday Vans where Holiday Van owners can meet the off-site residence obligation.

Some Holiday Van owners have already undertaken action including an appeal in NCAT, which is the appropriate and lawful means by which the Termination Notice can be overturned, and a number have also signed over their Holiday Vans for disposal after 30 June 2025.

Legal advice is being sought in relation to the lawful process for implementing the intent of Points 1.a and 1.c. of the Resolution, which related to withdrawing the Termination Notices and considering allocation of specific site outcomes for Holiday Parks in a Plan of Management and these matters will be reported to Council at a subsequent meeting.