The Kyabram RV Country Music Festival has been an event that increases the population of Kyabram by hundreds every November, but following its cancellation a light has been shone on the red tape causing events to die out across the state.
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Standing in front of one of the event’s largest crowds recently, RV Country Music Festival president Allan Weeks was “heartbroken” to make the announcement: the 2025 edition would be its last.
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While he acknowledged that finding younger volunteers had become challenging, Mr Weeks stressed the biggest problem was navigating a maze of permit requirements.
Tale of two permits
The permits that created a nuisance for the committee this year included the Place of Public Entertainment permit and the Temporary Occupancy Permit.
For a public outdoor event, a POPE permit is required if the event covers more than 500 square metres or takes place in an enclosed space.
Community-based organisations are generally exempt from needing a POPE permit if the number of people at any one time during the event does not exceed 5000.
Mr Weeks said this year the committee went into the planning with the presumption the festival would be exempt as in years past; however, he claimed the process took months longer than usual due to miscommunication with council officers.
Campaspe Shire Council director Jo Bradshaw said the confusion with the POPE permit was cleared up in April, with the committee being notified it was exempt from needing one.
Campaspe Shire Council said it had been working with the committee during the year, helping it acquire a Temporary Occupancy Permit.
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However, the damage was already done in the committee members’ minds, with Mr Weeks explaining they couldn’t promote the event or sell tickets until they received confirmation of their exemption.
Mr Weeks also said they found difficulties with securing a TOP, which would allow them to put up marquees larger than 100sq m for attendees to sit under.
For the permit to be approved, the structures generally need approval from a municipal building surveyor; however, the same permit isn’t required for temporary structures under 100sq m.
Ms Bradshaw said council had been working with the committee since July to resolve the approval; however, Mr Weeks said after working with council and other local leaders with no success, the committee had to settle for setting up smaller tents under 100sq m.
Mr Weeks expressed his frustration with the lack of a clear line when it came to acquiring permits, especially for annual festivals that apply for the same permits every year.
And this isn’t an issue specific to the RV Country Music Festival, it’s a tale of frustration that is told by most festival organisers across the state.
A system that fails
Event strategy expert Simon Thewlis wrote a discussion paper called Event Approvals in Victoria calling on the state government to change the way event permits are granted.
He wrote that the system currently didn’t favour anyone, with event organisers facing unpredictable approvals, councils burdened by duplicated administration, and residents losing events at the heart of their communities.
He explained that laws in Victoria were written under the building act, with the laws treating dynamic and living events as if they were permanent buildings.
Building surveyors are being asked to make decisions based on things they don’t entirely understand, such as crowd control and flow and severe weather.
The result is a system that doesn’t work and is inconsistent — with rules and administration changing from one council to the next, but it’s also a system that is currently being reformed.
The Department of Transport and Planning has identified key challenges with requirements for permits, including lack of clarity about when, where and which permit is needed, approval roles relying on municipal building surveyors who are often stretched thin, and timelines that don’t suit the fast-paced nature of the events sector.
In March, the government launched a POPE reform project, with 300 responses to a survey identifying areas of concern.
But for many regional community events, is it too little, too late?
For the Kyabram RV Country Music Festival, the answer is yes.
Allan Weeks was “heartbroken” to have to make the call to wrap up the RV Country Music Festival, but said it was something that had to be done for the wellbeing of the event’s volunteer base.
Mr Weeks said it was unlikely the festival would return, mostly due to feeling held back completely by red tape — but also due to the committee’s ageing volunteer base.
“In the 11 years, we've put over a million dollars into the town,” he said.
“I am 84 years of age — I just cannot carry on. I’ve carried the burden of all of these hassles, trying to keep it out of other people’s hands.”
It was a move that shocked Campaspe Shire Council, but one it could understand due to the ongoing volunteer crisis.
“While the announcement came as a surprise, we understand the challenges faced by volunteer-run events and the increasing complexity of regulatory requirements,” Ms Bradshaw said.
She said council was committed to supporting festival committees through the compliance maze and would tackle organisers’ challenges head-on through council’s upcoming draft Festivals and Events Strategy.
