The Affiliated Residential Park Residents Association Incorporated (ARPRA) is an incorporated non-profit association with a registered office in Port Macquarie, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia.

Established in 1986 to represent residents of residential parks in Port Stephens

Port Stephens

Port Stephens is a large natural harbour located about north-east of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It lies wholly within the Port Stephens Local Government Area although its northern shoreline forms the boundary between the Port Stephens and Great Lakes LGAs...

 and Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie

The City of Lake Macquarie is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia, approximately north of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to the city of Newcastle and was proclaimed as a city from 7 September 1984.-The City of Lake Macquarie:...

, ARPRA has since expanded and today represents affiliates from the Great Lakes, Mid North Coast, Central Coast

Central Coast

-California:* Central Coast Region of California, in California, United States*Monterey County, California*San Luis Obispo County, California*Santa Barbara County, California*Big Sur*Hearst Castle-Canada:...

, South Coast, Tweed Heads, Illawarra

Illawarra

Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...

, Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley

The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...

 and Greater Sydney regions.

ARPRA has a member-elected state body composed of a State President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, a Secretary and three Executive Committee members.

As of 2011, ARPRA has approximately 5,000 members across the state.

Mission

On its website, ARPRA writes that it makes sure that each member’s “voice is heard,” and as such, it represents the interests and concerns of people who are using caravan or residential parks in New South Wales as their principal place of permanent residence.

With the assistance of volunteers, the Association lobbies the Government on legislation regarding the Residential Parks Act in order to ensure that the residents’ rights are recognized and considered by residential park owners. The Association also represents members before the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales

Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales

The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of New South Wales is a tribunal that specialises in resolving consumer disputes in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction in respect of certain consumer claims with the normal civil courts of New South Wales. In...

 (CTTT) in disputes between residents and park operators. While disputes usually revolve around rent increases, ARPRA volunteers frequently represent members on matters such as park rules, termination of agreements, and the right to live in “quiet enjoyment and reasonable peace, comfort or privacy”. It also provides telephone, web and face-to-face advocacy and participates in a range of consultative areas with government and non-government offices.

Advocating and Lobbying

In 1995, following the lobbying done by ARPRA and other interested tenant organizations, the Government created new legislation to provide residential park residents with improved protection. The Residential Parks Act of 1996 became the operating tool for the conduct of residents and park owners alike. In 1998, following further lobbying for the legislative review and revision of the 1996 Act, the Residential Parks Act of 1998 became law.

In 1999, ARPRA’s state body and affiliates became involved in a campaign against the practice of charging Goods and Services Tax

Goods and Services Tax

A goods and services tax or value added tax is a tax on exchanges.By country:*Goods and Services Tax *Goods and Services Tax *Goods and Services Tax *Goods and Services Tax...

 (GST) on site fees or rent. Park owners eventually agreed to stop applying GST to site fees.

In early 2011, ARPRA began lobbying for the amendment of the 1998 Act, particularly that caravan or residential parks should be required to register. In September 2011, Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts

Anthony Roberts

Anthony John Roberts MP , an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Fair Trading in the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalitition government...

announced in a media release that the NSW Parliament had passed amendments to the Residential Parks Act of 1998, which would result in the creation of a residential park registry. ARPRA, which started the “registry campaign”, was named in both the NSW Senate and Parliament because of its efforts.

In the Media

ARPRA has used the media in its lobbying efforts to raise awareness of issues that affect older tenants. In September 2009, ARPRA started a “For Sale” campaign, wherein ARPRA members who lived in Crystal Waters Estate placed “For Sale” signs on their properties to protest what they claimed to be an unreasonable rent increase. The story was picked up by local media.

The mainstream media has since given statewide coverage to important issues relating to residential parks, and ARPRA is regularly consulted by the media to make comment on residential park matters.