Being self sufficient campers at nat parks and free camps

In my experience most National Parks have toilets, so maybe the camper sales people are trying to up-sell a bit.
Certainly there are more places now that insist on being self-contained, but mostly they are private.
Our camper doesn't have a toilet and we haven't had any trouble finding camping places, either campgrounds or National Parks and State forests.

Cheers
Jim

Pushy those requirements are mainly with private properties. It's an issue along the south coast of WA heading down from Exmouth. Many private farm stays that offer camping require you to have a chemical toilet. Environmentally sound but a pain at times. Have never seen a NP with such requirements.

Cheers.

Never seen a self-contained tent. Such a requirement would effectively ban tent camping in national parks. Probably not such a bad idea if you want to bush camp and avoid some of the toilet paper littered adjacent areas.

I've only seen that requirement in some towns that open up a common town area for free short term stays. There's one in Robe or Kingston SE from memory and they only allowed vans or big self contained campers, not camper trailers and certainly not tents. I've never seen it in a national park or state forest.

I've been camping in national parks since the 70's. I've never stayed in a park that required self-containment.
In fact, the first place I've stayed that forbade grey water on the ground was at the Big Red Bash.

Travel a lot & have only had 1 national park request that we have holding tanks black & grey(wa) & even had the dump pipe taped with a seal/tape but different on private properties where many, it has been mandatory that everybody had some form of holding tank & as others have pointed out many councils require you to have holding tanks to stay in there free camps but most have a free dump point in there municipalities

Never seen a national park in any state that requires self contained vehicles.
We do have a portable toilet and wouldn't be without one. Don't have a grey water tank, but do have a 15L squat container if necessary to collect the grey water. To date never used it. All detergents now are low sodium and phosphate and biodegradable. I do put a bit of stocking over the end of the drain pipe to catch any scraps and put that in the rubbish. Other than national parks (now many have got too expensive) we wild and stealth camp and generally make our own free camps.Cooktown won't allow you to stay on the Rec grounds unless you have a grey water tank fitted. People stay ten days and let their grey water on the ground overnight in caravans. We stealth camped in town for 4 nights and had no issues.
I do wish portable toilets were mandatory for free camping everywhere there are no toilet facilities. The mess left by some is appalling. What is more they are so lazy and defecate right on the edge of where they camp. There is also no way my wife or myself would want to go outside in the cold or wet even if there is a toilet facility at the location we are camped.

We have at least one campground in Tomaree NP here in NSW that requires you to have a chemical toilet per every 4 persons, fines for non compliance are handed out regularly especially in holiday season and long weekends. Given that a Porta potti costs around a$100 a $370 fine isn't really worth it not to have one, plenty of dirty buggers do though going by the "white bushflowers" that are exposed by the wind in the dunes behind the beach.

Requirements vary from camping opportunity to camping opportunity. My travel partner is, her words, too old to squat in the bushes and does not like using the Long Drops seen in many places. NOT getting bitten on the bum by something in the dark and hygiene concerns around other peoples toilet behaviours figure largely in her wants and needs while camping. A porta pottie has been in the back or in the campervan for the last several years. A pop up shower tent allows its use just about anywhere. We collect greywater as a matter of course and dispose according to the situation. Rather than decide on what to do as a matter of ensuring access, we have the facilities to suit our personal preferences. That we can access 99 % of free camps and NPs and other camping opportunities, is a positive consequence of having a chemical toilet and graywater holding tank.

Iza