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A free camp for homeless people will be established at a public park north of Brisbane, after the City of Moreton Bay council voted to approve a 12-month trial.
The tent camp will be established at Wyllie Park in Petrie, where people are understood to already be sleeping rough.
The park, which is bordered by the University of Sunshine Coast’s Moreton Bay campus and The Mill Waterpark, is near Petrie train station.
The Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre for Brisbane 2032 will also be established at The Mill. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
The free camp will include a mandatory registration process, campground terms and conditions, designated campsites, and operational management procedures.
Councillor Jim Moloney said people were already camping at the park, and this informed the decision to create the trial.
“The question is not whether people experiencing homelessness will camp at Wyllie Park, they already do,” he said.
“The question is whether that camping is managed or unmanaged.”
Wyllie Park also has a history as a roadside testing and rest area, Moloney said.
He said Queensland government data showed the number of people at risk of or experiencing homelessness has almost doubled in less than three years.
While 446 social homes have been delivered in Moreton Bay during this time, and another 716 are under construction, Moloney said demand was growing faster than supply.
“Council is not a housing authority, council is not a health service, council is not a mental health provider. And council cannot solve Queensland’s health crisis through park management,” the councillor said.
He called on the state government to deliver crisis accommodation, homelessness outreach services, mental health support, and health services.
“A campground is not a home, and a tent is not housing. And we should never pretend otherwise.”
City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery emphasised the camping site was no replacement for housing.
He said the people of Moreton Bay needed crisis accommodation and longer-term community housing, but council must act to ensure community safety.
“This is not a silver bullet; this is us responding to the community’s request to make our public places safe for the broader community.”
Flannery said trialling the camp would ensure homeless people have access to toilets, rubbish removal, the protection of CCTV footage, and access to support services.
A Supreme Court judge ruled earlier this year that Moreton Bay council had violated the human rights of homeless people forcefully evicted from encampments last year.
Rangers and Queensland police officers carrying out the eviction in Eddie Hyland Park in April 2025 used excavators to destroy shelters and remove belongings as residents watched on.
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