Start with the person or family
The Walkabout Strategy establishes an empowering, community-supported pathway into affordable campers, caravans, campervans, and tow vehicles. It connects directly to community grounds while providing the practical ecosystem required to sustainably own, maintain, and live in a mobile home.
The intention is to support fundamental human life milestones on people's own terms: enabling young adults to pursue study without crushing urban rental debt; providing young people and families a dignified, affordable foundation to raise children with community stability; giving grassroots innovators the living security to build ventures without living below the poverty line; and offering an autonomous reset after relationship changes, caring duties, or financial setbacks.
Suitability comes first. Explore household space, accessibility, driving capacity, schooling, healthcare, pets and proximity to personal support. A lower purchase price does not by itself make a setup suitable.
The support pathway
Understand the options
Work out what the person needs from the dwelling and location, what they can afford, and whether mobile living is a useful option for them.
Find a suitable setup
Prioritising reliable, affordable second-hand homes on wheels (caravans, campervans, or converted vehicles), supported by an independent pre-purchase inspection framework to verify roadworthiness, structural condition, and tow vehicle compatibility.
Work out the complete cost
Consider purchase or finance costs alongside site fees, fuel, insurance, registration, essential living expenses and a repair reserve. Financing is an idea to develop; no product or lender is established here.
Keep it usable
Connect people with mechanics, repair services, tools and opportunities to learn. Shared workshops can support practical skills, with qualified help for work that needs it.
Support the next step
Plan for changes in income, breakdowns, moving between grounds and eventually selling or leaving the setup. A workable exit matters as much as entry. Explore the journey out ↗
Look at the whole weekly picture
Traditional housing models default to an extractive paradigm, assuming vulnerable residents must bear the full capital and debt burden of the physical site. In contrast, community grounds sustain their baseline operations through generative physical and digital infrastructure: commercial-scale rooftop solar exports, battery grid trading, and edge compute databoxes. Because these assets generate external revenue, the ground does not need to extract high rents from residents.
Clarifying the "30% Rule": Percentage of fee vs. percentage of income
In Australian affordable housing policy, the standard benchmark defines shelter as affordable if it costs no more than 30% of gross income. For an Australian concession card holder (Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, JobSeeker with energy supplements) on roughly A$600 per week, the conventional housing stress ceiling would be $180 per week.
Under the Community Grounds model, however, the concession rate is set at 30% of the full commercial fee. With full commercial rates benchmarked at $50 per night ($350/week, matching standard regional holiday parks), the concession floor is $15 per night ($105 per week)—a 70% discount. In relation to income, $105/week represents only 17.5% of a $600/week concession income, sitting far below the housing stress ceiling and providing an essential $75/week safety cushion.
A universal safety net: Protection during illness
The $15/night ($105/week) tariff is a universal, non-conditional safety net. It is never conditional on mandatory labour or sweat equity. Even if a resident is severely unwell, bedridden, disabled, or temporarily unable to contribute to cooperative projects, their site stay is completely secure. The remaining $495 per week preserves food security, essential PBS-subsidised medication, phone connectivity, and vehicle roadworthiness—permanently breaking the recurring cycle of crisis debt.
Tiered pricing architecture
Because commercial solar export and edge compute absorb the bulk of the grounds' baseline operational costs, fee structures simply manage marginal capacity across distinct community cohorts:
| Pricing Tier | Nightly Tariff | Weekly Total | Cohort Profile | Role in Community Grounds Ecosystem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: Concession Floor | $15 / night (30% of full fee) | $105 / wk | Concession card holders, pensioners, people recovering from illness or crisis. | Universal safe haven: Pure non-extractive baseline covering direct marginal consumables (potable water, wastewater treatment, amenities). |
| Tier 2: Nomad / General | $30 – $35 / night (~65% of full fee) | $210 – $245 / wk | Mobile trade workers, seasonal workers, funded students, road-trippers. | Covers full marginal resource use and contributes directly to the ground's ongoing maintenance and tooling reserve. |
| Tier 3: Commercial / Full | $50 / night (100% of full fee) | $350 / wk | Salaried remote workers, holiday tourists, event and show visitors. | Aligns with regional holiday park benchmarks; provides secondary cross-subsidisation alongside primary solar and compute exports. |
Weekly scenario: Concession card holder baseline
All amounts are Australian dollars per week. Convert annual bills to weekly amounts before entering them. Figures update dynamically and are not stored.
Baseline figures reflect Australian concession allowances, statutory registration concessions, and the standard $15/night community ground electronic tariff. Actual figures will vary according to vehicle loan structure, regional travel distance, and personal living needs.
What the pathway still needs
- A way to assess dwelling condition, vehicle suitability and likely maintenance costs before purchase.
- A financing model with clear total costs, ownership terms and arrangements when circumstances change.
- Reliable places to stay, including during shows or other periods when a ground is unavailable.
- Practical support when a home or vehicle needs major repairs.
- Evidence about who benefits, who is excluded by cost or design, and which other housing options people need.
The intended result is more agency and stability. The pilot needs to test that result from residents' perspectives, including people who choose to leave.