Camping, Glamping & Hipcamp on Your Farm: The Rules in Plain English

Hosting campers is the lowest-cost way to start earning from rural land, and NSW rules are friendlier than most landowners realise. But there are three different rule sets, and which one applies depends on how many guests, how often, and what facilities you provide.

The casual camping exemption: you can install up to two caravans or tents without any council approval, provided they're occupied for no more than two consecutive days and no more than 60 days in any 12-month period. For occasional weekend Hipcamp hosting, this alone may cover you.

Regular hosting moves you into farm stay accommodation under the Codes SEPP. Meeting the development standards — site caps, setbacks, access, water, toilet and waste provisions, and bushfire and flood safety — can make it exempt or complying development. You'll likely still need Section 68 approval under the Local Government Act for moveable dwellings and on-site sewage management, even when planning approval isn't required.

Permanent structures change the picture: cabins, glamping pods with plumbing, or converting a shed to guest rooms typically need a DA and Construction Certificate, with BASIX and accessibility requirements on top.

Before your first booking, walk the property like an inspector: emergency vehicle access in all weather, a defensible space around sites if you're in bushfire-prone land, distance from flood-prone areas, and safe drinking water. Councils respond well to hosts who arrive with answers to these questions already prepared.

The Rural Land Revenue: Agritourism Toolkit includes a farm stay readiness checklist and the exact standards tables translated into plain English — so you know which pathway you're on before you list your first site.