The official cancellation and refund terms for Park Stay WA, Parks Victoria, NSW National Parks, the Overland Track and Three Capes Track, side by side, with the dates cancellations cluster around.
Why the rules matter even if you never cancel
Refund rules decide when other people cancel. Victoria gives you everything back at 30 days and half at 8; NSW gives 75% at 31 days; Tasmania's walks charge a 25% fee until 14 days and nothing back after. Those thresholds are where cancellations pile up, which is where you'll find a site at a "sold out" campground.
This page quotes the official terms as published in October 2026, with links. Terms change; where we know a change is coming, we say so. If you're relying on a number for your own booking, read the linked page.
The summary table
| Full / best refund | Partial | Nothing | Booking fee | Changes |
|---|
| Park Stay WA | Fee refunded less cancellation fee; fee waived if >14 days (peak) or >5 days (non-peak) before removed date, or within 48-hour grace | Cancellation fee = one concession camper fee per date per site removed | n/a (can cancel until day before arrival) | None | Online until 11:59pm day before arrival |
| Parks Victoria | 100% at 30+ days | 50% at 8–29 days | <8 days | None | To another date/site/campground, no refund on changed booking |
| NSW NPWS (camping) | 75% at 31+ days | 50% at <31 days | n/a | Non-refundable, charged on every booking | Fees payable at time of change |
| NSW NPWS (accommodation) | 75% at 31+ days | 50% at 8–30 days | <8 days | Non-refundable | As above |
| Overland Track | Refund less 25% fee at 14+ days | — | <14 days | n/a | New date within same season, via booking team |
| Three Capes Track | 75% at 14+ days | — | ≤13 days or no-show | n/a | Free if ≥3 business days out; 100% fee again if less |
Western Australia: Park Stay WA
Source: Online campsite booking terms and conditions (DBCA, last updated January 2024; the Ningaloo FAQ confirms the same terms apply under the monthly release).
- You can cancel all nights online up to 11:59pm AWST the day before arrival. From the arrival date you can only bring the departure forward.
- Refund is the fee paid less any cancellation fee.
- The cancellation fee is one concession camper fee per date per campsite removed. Removing a date by changing dates counts, even if the total number of nights stays the same.
- The fee is waived if you remove the date more than 14 days ahead in a peak period, or more than 5 days ahead otherwise. Peak periods are set per campground and listed under "More details" on Park Stay WA.
- Grace period: bookings made three or more days before arrival can be cancelled or changed free within 48 hours. Bookings made one or two days out: free until 11:59pm the day before arrival. Same-day bookings: no grace.
- Exceptional-circumstances refunds are discretionary, in writing with evidence, within 28 days of departure.
- If DBCA closes the park, you're offered an alternative or refunded for the unused nights, no fee.
What it means for cancellations: there's no cliff. The fee is a few dollars a night, so people cancel whenever plans change. Sites trickle back through the whole booking window, which is why watching beats checking on a particular day.
Victoria: Parks Victoria
Source: Booking information, updated March 2026.
- 100% refund if you cancel 30 days or more before the first day of your trip.
- 50% refund at 8 to 29 days.
- No refund at less than 8 days.
- Bookings can be changed (another date, site or campground, subject to availability) up to check-in for camping and up to 7 days before arrival for roofed accommodation, but no refund is available on a modified booking.
- Park closures under a Code Red fire danger declaration: refund for the closed period, requested within 60 days.
- Fees are half price at Parks Victoria campgrounds until July 2027.
- Maximum three campsites per transaction.
What it means: two sharp cliffs. For Christmas week at Tidal River (arrivals 20 and 27 December, 3 January), the 30-day deadlines fall on 20 and 27 November and 4 December, and the 8-day deadlines on 12 and 19 December and 26 December. The fortnight before each is when cancelled sites appear.
New South Wales: NPWS
Source: Accommodation and campground booking conditions.
- Camping: 75% refund (excluding the booking fee) if you cancel 31 days or more before the first day; 50% if less than 31 days.
- Other accommodation: 75% at 31+ days, 50% at 8–30 days, nothing inside 8 days.
- All booking fees are non-refundable.
- Transfers to another person: camping bookings from 150 days before arrival up to the booking date, within the same property and site type, whole booking only. On-selling is not permitted.
- Cancel online through your account or on 1300 072 757.
A change may be coming. NPWS consulted in 2025 on removing the booking fee and raising the early-cancellation refund to 80% to discourage ghost bookings, and a May 2026 report said the new terms would start on 1 July 2026. The official conditions page still shows 75%/50% and a booking fee as we write this, so that's what we quote. We'll update when NPWS does.
What it means: one cliff at 31 days, a softer one later. For a 26 December arrival at Depot Beach the 75% deadline is 25 November. Expect a wave in the week before it.
Tasmania: Overland Track
Source: Overland Track terms and conditions (PWS, June 2024).
- Cancel 14 days or more before departure: refund less a 25% cancellation fee.
- Cancel less than 14 days before: no refund.
- Illness or injury with a medical certificate: alternative date or full refund, for the ill walker and one accompanying adult (and children in their care).
- PWS closure for bushfire, or a BoM Bushwalkers Weather Alert for the Central Plateau: full refund or alternative date.
- Date changes: within the same walking season, by email or phone, subject to availability.
- Walker substitutions allowed by the original booker; whole bookings can't be transferred.
- Refund applications within 14 days after the booked departure date.
Tasmania: Three Capes Track
Source: Three Capes Track terms and conditions (PWS, December 2025).
- Cancel at least 14 days before departure: 75% refund.
- Cancel 13 days or less before, or fail to show: no refund.
- Change at least 3 business days before departure: no extra charge if a new date is available. Less notice: 100% of the fee payable again.
- An altered booking must be used within two years of the original booking.
- Illness or injury with a medical certificate: alternative date or full refund for the affected walker and one adult.
- PWS cancellation before you start: 100% refund or reschedule. Evacuation mid-walk: 50%.
- Not transferable without PWS approval. Changes and cancellations go through the booking team in business hours, not the website.
What it means for both walks: cancellations cluster in the two-to-three weeks before each date, as walkers who can't go act before their refund drops to zero. Both tracks have no waitlist and both put cancelled places straight back on sale.
Not monitored, for completeness
- Rottnest Island (Stay Rottnest) and the Jatbula Trail (NT Parks) have their own terms, shown at booking. We don't quote them because we don't monitor those systems. See the Rottnest and Jatbula guides.
- Commercial parks (Peoples Park Coral Bay, Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort) set their own policies, typically with a deposit and a cut-off a few weeks out.
Using this
If you're hunting a site, set a Aussie Camp Alerts watch early and leave it running through the refund cliffs rather than checking on the day: cancellations arrive over a week or two, not at a single moment. If you're the one cancelling, do it before the cliff, both for your refund and for whoever's waiting.
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