Permits Go Digital at Bribie Island

Bribie Island is known amongst weekend holiday makers as a great place to camp and go 4-wheel-driving. Its secluded beaches offer paddle boating and the bushland hides winding nature trails. But, to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Rangers, it was known as a dangerous and difficult place to police.

Permits are required to access the recreation area to ensure all explorers who escape to Bribie are competent and safe. Those same vast open spaces that bring in holiday makers every year posed an immense hurtle for Rangers when attempting to efficiently verify and track valid permit holders.

The manual system required Rangers to patrol camp sites checking permits which are to be displayed on vehicle dashboards. They then fine those campers who are non-compliant, resulting in confrontations.

This, understandably, led to low morale and high turnover amongst the Rangers. Queensland Parks and Wildlife services realised they needed an automated system that would promote Ranger safety and ensure the vital revenue needed to maintain Bribie Island is captured.

Using Licence Plate Recognition technology, QPWS have implemented a digital permit monitoring system. LPR cameras stationed at all insecure entries and exits, capturing the licence plates of vehicles moving through the site. This provides a detailed log of vehicles onsite to compare against vehicles who have obtained a permit. Bribie Island has undertaken a temporary deployment of this system with success, which provides QPWS with a thorough list of non-compliant vehicles complete with time and date stamped photographic evidence.

This allows Queensland Parks and Wildlife to remotely fine vehicles that don’t hold a permit at a later date, creating a safe and automated system that allows the Rangers to continue their important work.

The permanent system will be rolled out in the coming months. Now, all vehicles entering and exiting Bribie Island’s recreational area are digitally monitored to ensure they are a permit holder. This means no more loss of revenue and enhanced Ranger safety, leaving Bribie Island to continue as a leisure oasis.