School camp owners positive about future despite rule change

Sophie and Matt Bowker, who run Princetown's Kangaroobie, were concerned changes to overtime rules for public education teachers would result in a flurry of cancellations.

However, Mrs Bowker said bookings were strong, with schools instead shortening the length of the trips.

"We are fully booked but there have been a number of schools who have reduced the length of their camp," she said.

The operators have spent a lot of time approaching schools to fill these gaps.

Mrs Bowker said she believed the camp would be back to pre-COVID levels in 2024.

"We've had a couple of cancellations but we've managed to replace them," she said.

"We're lucky enough that we have high demand."

Mrs Bowker said a number of schools from Geelong and Melbourne booked annual camps at Princetown.

Teachers are now entitled to time off in lieu for overtime but the unexpected fallout is hitting school camps, The Standard reported last year.