Nightly compliance checks will be dropped and enforcement will rely on officers following up on complaints.
Education efforts will continue regarding national certification of self-contained vehicles and a council bylaw.
A report for the Dunedin City Council said there had been consistently high levels of bylaw compliance over successive seasons.
The council would move to a response-based model in the 2025-26 season — officers would visit sites where offences had been reported, council staff said.
Officers counted 10,541 freedom camping vehicles staying in city council territory between December 18 last year and March 17 this year.
This was an 8% decrease on the previous season.
There was an increase in infringement notices issued, but the total was well shy of the 682 issued in 2018-19.
An education-first approach applied in 2023-24 after legislative change and seven infringement notices were issued that year.
In 2024-25, 42 notices were issued for non-compliant camping and 14 were later waived.
Most were for vehicles used for camping in a restricted area without displaying a valid self-containment certificate, and a series of tickets were for campers exceeding a permitted two-night stay.
Legislative changes included a requirement for vehicles to have a fixed toilet to be certified as self-contained.
The city council’s three unrestricted freedom camping sites continued to be well used.
Warrington Domain had the most in 2024-25 with 2710 vehicles, the Thomas Burns carpark within the central city had 2253 and Ocean View had 1219.
The popularity of Kensington Oval as a restricted site plummeted from 775 stays in 2023-24 to 129 in the past season.
