Brisbane Caravan Parks — A Statistical Overview

(ABS — 1996 Census Data)

At the time of the 1996 census, there were 2518 occupied caravans, cabins and houseboats within the Brisbane City area. 2230 of these were in 23 caravan parks across the city, 98 in marinas and 190 in other locations such as driveways and back yards.

The number of caravans in the 23 caravan parks range from 21 vans in a Rochdale park to 246 caravans in a caravan park at Eight Mile Plains. The average number of caravans per park is approximately 100.

3,650 people live in caravan parks in Brisbane, which represents 0.45% of the Brisbane population. The majority of Brisbane Caravan Park residents (81.4%) identify themselves as permanent residents.

47% of people in caravan parks are aged 45 years and over, compared with 34% for the rest of Brisbane. Males dominate, with 3 men for every 2 women. 50% of caravan park households are lone person, compared with 23% for the rest of Brisbane.

Similarly, there are income and unemployment disparities. 59% of caravan park residents earn less than $300 per week compared with 48% for the rest of Brisbane, while the unemployment rate in caravan parks is 2.5 times higher.