In Case You Missed it: NZMCA Board Report October 2025

Association President Sharron King welcomed Board members to the latest Board meeting, held in Wellington on Saturday, October 11.

Board defers Notice of Motion
The Board has voted to defer for 12 months its proposed Notice of Motion for removal of the Association’s mandatory self-containment requirement in the upcoming Board election, Notice of Motion and Special Resolution voting round.

Introduced as part of a plan to expand the membership, the intent of the NoM was to remove the requirement for members to be certified self-contained when joining or renewing as an NZMCA member but to retain this requirement when staying at NZMCA Parks and other properties, events or rallies that require it. Member surveys when the idea was first raised showed strong support for the plan.

However, the Board’s deferment follows advice from National Office that while it’s progressing well, the park entry technology that’s under development to take some of the anticipated increased workload off the Park Custodians would not be in place in time should the NoM meet the required level of support from members.

Understanding the concerns around the potential increase in workload for the volunteer Park Custodians and the risk of conflict, the Board felt it was prudent to defer their NoM for one year until the park entry technology is further advanced.

Assuming the park technology is by then in place, the Board’s intention is to re-present the NOM at the 2026 voting round.

Board finalises budget for year ahead
Following final ‘tweaks’ from the National Office finance team, the Board has signed off the Association’s 2026 Budget.

Despite being prepared on a conservative basis of less than one per cent net growth in memberships in the current testing economic conditions, the budget contains good news for members – there are no increases in either the annual membership fee or the $5 per person NZMCA Park fees!

However, with our largest segment of members (the Baby Boomers) now beginning to retire from paid employment, a major focus for 2026 and the following years is a growth strategy to mitigate the inevitable decline in membership.

A good example of that strategy is the successful Family Joining Fee discount initiative which has so far resulted in 855 new memberships to help cushion the effect of high retirements. 

On the basis of that positive outcome, waiving the $150 joining fee for direct family members will be continued.

Financial performance
Treasurer Arthur Keane reported the Association’s surplus of $2,512,751 for the eleven months to August 31, 2025 was $840,262 above the Board’s deliberately conservative budget expectation given the current economic environment. 

That result was based on income being above budget by $551,948 and expenses under budget by $465,452. Tax expense is above budget by $177,138 as a result.

The main income variances driving the above-budget result were: Subscriptions, Commissions and Joining Fees.

Board adopts Freedom Camping position statement
The Board has formally adopted the following position statement to reflect the NZMCA’s commitment to responsible freedom camping and guide our engagement with councils, the Department of Conservation, communities and other stakeholders. 

Background 
Freedom camping is a long-standing and valued tradition for tens of thousands of NZMCA members and New Zealand families. Parliament has recognised this in the Freedom Camping Act 2011, which enshrines a permissive and proportionate approach to enabling freedom camping, while providing public land administrators with tools for managing genuine issues.

NZMCA members highly value the ability to explore New Zealand and freedom camp in a wide range of locations. A 2025 survey of 1,000 NZMCA members found that 19% prefer freedom camping over all other accommodation, and 52% consider doing it as part of their journeys. 

Following the introduction of new self-containment laws in 2023, NZMCA members have made significant efforts to upgrade their vehicles and comply with the government’s higher standards for responsible freedom camping.

About the NZMCA 
Over 120,000 Kiwis are members of the NZMCA, and they enjoy staying in commercial campgrounds, private campsites, and freedom camping areas. 

The NZMCA is one of New Zealand’s leading campground operators, managing 63 private motorhome parks and three public campgrounds nationwide. We are a founding member of the Responsible Camping Forum and a long-standing member of both Tourism Industry Aotearoa and the Holiday Parks Association of New Zealand. 

In 2001, the NZMCA led the development of the self-containment standard (NZS 5465). More recently, we supported the Minister of Tourism and MBIE in shaping the new self-containment legislation and regulations. Our team also collaborated with LGNZ and Simpson Grierson to produce updated guidance that helps councils develop freedom camping bylaws. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the NZMCA has successfully challenged unlawful bylaws introduced by the Marlborough and Queenstown-Lakes District Councils. The resulting High Court decisions have reinforced the importance of undertaking genuine site assessments and the need to avoid irrelevant matters when making bylaws under section 11 of the Freedom Camping Act.

NZMCA’s position 

• NZMCA supports freedom camping in certified self-contained (CSC) vehicles, consistent with the permissive intent of the Freedom Camping Act and the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Act 2023. 
• We oppose rules and management regimes that unreasonably prohibit our members and New Zealand families from responsible freedom camping in suitable areas. 
• Local authorities and the Department of Conservation should enable responsible freedom camping in CSC vehicles, unless there are clear and valid reasons to prohibit the activity in specific areas, in accordance with the Freedom Camping Act. 
• Non-CSC vehicles should be permitted to freedom camp in designated areas. 

Bylaws and reserves 

• Any bylaw restricting or prohibiting freedom camping should be made under the Freedom Camping Act, supported by robust site assessments and in line with recent case law. 
• Blanket prohibitions or using the Reserves Act 1977 to circumvent the intent of the Freedom Camping Act are not supported and risk being unlawful. 
• Freedom camping on reserve land should be considered in the bylaw-making process and in reserve management planning. 
• Councils and DOC are encouraged to work collaboratively with us to avoid unlawful decisions or unreasonable outcomes. NZMCA is prepared to seek judicial reviews where necessary. 

Urban areas 
Responsible freedom camping is appropriate in urban areas. It allows New Zealanders to stay close to their friends, family, and essential services. These needs are especially important for older travellers and those with mobility challenges. 

Commercial campgrounds 
NZMCA supports public campgrounds by offering free marketing and advertising through our communication channels and the CampSaver programme. We believe both activities can co-exist. It is neither appropriate nor lawful to prohibit freedom camping to protect the economic interests of public campgrounds. 

Benefits 
Freedom camping in CSC vehicles provides important social, economic, and environmental benefits. It supports mental well-being and social connection, brings much-needed spending to local communities, and encourages responsible waste management and care for the environment. 

Infrastructure investment 
Ongoing investment by local and central government in public infrastructure such as rubbish, dump stations, and toilet facilities is essential. NZMCA financially supports certain infrastructure investment through its dump station subsidy scheme and Greenfund programme. 

Summary 
The NZMCA supports a balanced, evidence-based approach to freedom camping that upholds the rights of our members and New Zealanders, enables responsible camping to help protect communities and the environment, and ensures local authorities comply with the law. Good faith collaboration, not outright prohibition, is the key to successful long-term management.

NZMCA partnership with VTNZ discontinued 
The NZMCA has formally notified VTNZ that the Association will not be renewing our commercial partnership agreement when it expires on January 31, 2026. 

President Sharron King advised the decision has been made in light of continued member feedback regarding the VTNZ partnership and following careful consideration by our Board. 

As per the Partnership Agreement the existing situation will continue under the current contractual terms until January 31, 2026 to give members the opportunity to complete planned inspections at the discounted rate over the coming months. 

Of course, members can continue to use VTNZ’s nationwide network of testing stations but after January 31, 2026 there will no longer be NZMCA exclusive discounts on inspection services. While no like-for like partnership is being considered at this stage, the National Office team is compiling a nationwide list of alternative inspection providers which will be made available to members in due course.  

Self-containment progress continues at a steady rate
The NZMCA’s National Manager, Property & Policy, James Imlach advised the Board that between October 1, 2024 and September 12, 2025 the National Office processed 24,119 green (94.5%) and 1,409 yellow warrant cards (5.5%).

In response to feedback from our team of Self-Containment Inspectors and updated guidance from the PGDB, the National Office team have made minor revisions to our inspection form and updated the NZMCA technical guide accordingly.

With tens of thousands of members’ vehicles still to be inspected under the new self-containment regulations, the NZMCA’s National Manager, Property & Policy, James Imlach is advising members not to wait until near the deadline of June 7, 2026 for privately-owned vehicles. 

“There are no guarantees our volunteers will be able to inspect your vehicle closer to June 2026 if you choose to wait,” he says.

NZMCA Parks update

• Tokerau Beach (owned): The NZMCA property team are investigating the installation of an onsite dump station.
• Gisborne (leased): Our lease termination notice has been received by the landlord. We are working with the Eastland Area to identify potential replacement sites.
• Riversdale Beach (leased): Land-use and subdivision consent applications have been lodged with the Council.
• Plimmerton (owned): Power is now available in the park and the feedback has been very positive. Members who have used it say they want to see more user pays facilities at our NZMCA Parks - which is consistent with other member survey results.
• Koromiko (owned): Construction of a ring road is underway to resolve issues with boggy ground conditions.
• Westport (leased): Contractors have resurfaced the site to address potholes and corrugation.
• Kaikoura Old Beach Rd (owned): Dump station upgrades are complete. A second unit has been added to the dump station island, along with a separate cassette-only disposal facility to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.
• Hanmer Springs (leased): Gravel hardstand resurfacing is complete, addressing potholes and uneven areas.
• Parnassus (owned): Resurfacing of the gravel hardstand to fill potholes is complete.

New NZMCA Parks under development

• Omaio (purchase): The property team is actively progressing site works and addressing a range of pre-opening conditions. The goal is to have the park operational by late summer.
• Ōhau B Canal (to lease): A draft lease has been negotiated with Meridian Energy, and an application for land-use consent has recently been approved.
• Orari (to lease): This site could potentially be available before Christmas, subject to finalising a lease agreement with the Department of Conservation.

Prospective new NZMCA Parks
The National Office property team are exploring several new park proposals and lease agreements for Board review and approval. These include potential sites in Mt Lees Reserve and Manfeild.

Online park fees
Members are reminded that from October 1, 2025 all NZMCA Park fees must now be paid online – except in the small handful of sites where mobile coverage is poor and WiFi is not yet available. 

The Association are working with Wireless Nation on solutions for these parks so they can also move to online payments only.

Don't know how to pay using the app? Phone too old for the app, or unable to pay via the app for some reason? You can pay on the NZMCA website via the Online Travel Directory.

Sharron King
President