Recreation Areas Management Regulation 2024

Vehicles & Driving

• You need a valid licence to drive any vehicle in recreation areas, just as on public roads.
• Vehicles must be registered and display readable number plates.
• Conditionally registered vehicles (e.g., some farm or off-road vehicles with limited registration) require written approval from the chief executive — with exceptions for emergencies, government work, disability access, or passing through to private land.
• Road safety rules that apply on public roads (like drink driving and dangerous driving provisions) also apply off-road within recreation areas.
• You cannot ride in something being towed, and passengers on motorbikes, quad bikes, and UTVs must sit on proper passenger seats.
• Driving on vegetated areas of beaches is prohibited; you can only drive on non-vegetated coastal beaches or on designated routes.
• Motorised vessels cannot be used on freshwater lakes or waterways without approval.

Vehicle Tags

• If you have a vehicle access permit, you'll receive a vehicle tag that must be displayed on your windscreen (lower left side). Don't display expired or wrong tags.

Drones

• You cannot possess or fly a drone in camping areas, or in other parts where signs prohibit it — unless you have a permit, commercial agreement, or it's an emergency.
• Drones stored securely in a bag inside a vehicle are okay to carry through.

Waste & Damage

• Take your rubbish with you — depositing litter outside bins is an offence. If bins are full, an authorised officer can direct you to take it away.
• Don't throw non-combustible items (cans, bottles, bricks) into fires.
• Don't break glass in recreation areas.
• Fish and crab scraps can be buried (at least 50cm deep, below the high-water mark) in Cooloola, Fraser Island, Inskip Peninsula, and Moreton Island.

Other Rules

• Generators are generally not allowed unless on a vessel — except if you need one for a documented medical condition (must be under 65 decibels at 7 metres).
• Weapons, bows, traps, nets must be dismantled and stored out of sight in a vehicle or vessel.
• You need written approval to hand out flyers, collect donations, or put up signs.

Commercial Operators & Event Organisers

• Must keep detailed electronic records of activities (client numbers, sites, vehicles, dates) and submit them regularly to the chief executive.
• Must pay activity fees, with invoices available on request.
• Fee waivers exist when the same activity is also permitted in an adjacent national park or state forest (to avoid double-paying).

Fees

• Camping, vehicle access, and activity permits all carry fees (set out in schedules not shown here).
• Unpaid fees are a debt to the State and can be recovered legally, separate from any criminal prosecution.
• Fee exemptions exist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land claim work, and for genuine conservation activities.