Legal victory for nudists at Lights Beach, Western Australia

A community's effort paves the way for body freedom and legal acceptance

When I first became a nudist, I was a bit wary of “unofficial” nude beaches. With no legal protection or signage to notify other beach users and warnings on the internet about the need for discretion, I was afraid of getting into trouble with the law or other beach users. It’s a big part of why I took so long to try it, as both nude beaches within driving distance of my home were unofficial. As I became more confident as a nudist, these worries faded, but it’s important not to forget the value of legal protection in making newcomers feel safe to try something that can already be quite scary in itself.

Last year, we had our shire council elections, so I did what any politically active nudist in my situation would do and contacted the candidates to suggest that signage be installed at our local clothing-optional beach to give nudists legal protection. I received positive responses in principle, but they pointed out that the beach is within the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions (DBCA) land and, therefore not under the council’s jurisdiction. Some of them seemed to think that official recognition wasn’t necessary, but I wasn’t convinced.

I then contacted the local police station, to ask what their policy was regarding nudity at the beach. They informed me that they recognised that the beach was understood to be clothing-optional and wouldn’t respond to complaints about nudity on the beach. A positive sign, but still not ideal. This could easily change if they started getting more complaints. We’ve seen what’s happened at Alexandria Bay in Queensland after all. It also wouldn’t prevent conflict with textile beach users who didn’t know that the beach was supposed to be clothing optional.

So, I wrote to the DBCA with this message:

Hello, I'm a resident of Denmark, and a user of the western end of Lights Beach, which falls within William Bay National Park. The beach is generally considered to be the local nude beach for Denmark residents. I have spoken to Denmark Police and confirmed that they accept the beach as a clothing optional area, and will not pursue charges for nudity on the beach. However, there is no signage, which is bad for both nudists and those who don't wish to see nudity, as it can lead to conflict when people go there unaware of the beach's status. This can particularly be a problem given that Denmark is a tourist hotspot, so many visitors won't have the local knowledge. 

I have spoken to members of Denmark Shire Council, who say they support the clothing optional status of the beach, but given that the beach is in DBCA managed lands, it is not within their power to erect signage. I therefore ask if it is possible that DBCA can do something about the signage situation.

They replied several weeks later with this:

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for your email and insights regarding the western end of Lights Beach.
We acknowledge the informal status of this area as a clothing optional beach among local residents. However, as the managing body of William Bay National Park, our policies aim to cater to a wide range of visitors, ensuring accessible and family-friendly environments.

At this time, we will not be placing signage to indicate the beach as a clothing optional area. This decision aligns with our broader management objectives and commitment to maintaining a welcoming environment for all park visitors.

We appreciate your understanding. Please feel free to reach out for any further discussion.

I was quite annoyed with such a dismissive and bureaucratic response. I didn’t reply straight away, thinking it was pointless to argue with a big government department. But I did end up replying a few days later, not expecting much. Here’s what I wrote:

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your reply. I do understand where you are coming from, but I would like to offer an alternative perspective if you would hear me out.

You give your rationale as wanting to provide a welcoming and family friendly environment for a wide range of visitors. However, I don't believe providing clothing optional signage would hinder this goal.
Firstly, naturism is family friendly. The ideas that naturism is sexual, or that seeing nudity is harmful to children are common misconceptions. Naturists simply prefer to live without clothes, but are otherwise just like everyone else. You need only look at the many cultures around the world where nudity is or was commonplace (not least of which is our own Indigenous culture) to realise that nudity isn't indecent. It is only in the minds of certain onlookers that the indecency occurs.

Secondly, having a clothing optional beach caters to a wider range of visitors than not having one. There are still plenty of other beaches in the park that are not clothing optional, for those who sincerely find nudity offensive. But the western end of Lights Beach is the only one that caters to naturists, or visitors who simply wish to enjoy a beach in their natural state. Furthermore, a clothing optional beach is still welcoming to those who choose to wear clothes (hence the word "optional"). All it takes is a bit of tolerance and understanding of others' cultural viewpoints. I would hope that DBCA supports the broadening of people's acceptance of other cultures. If you want to be welcoming to the widest range of visitors possible, that should include naturists too.

Finally, the beach is already being used as a clothing optional beach, whether signposted or not. Western Australia doesn't have a specific law against public nudity. Instead it falls under Indecent Acts In Public (WA criminal code, section 203). Denmark Police have confirmed that because the beach is broadly accepted by the local community as clothing optional, they don't consider nudity there to constitute an indecent act. Choosing not to signpost the beach won't make the park more welcoming to those who find nudity offensive, in fact, it will make it less so. I'm sure those who's cultural beliefs dictate that they don't want to see nudity would appreciate a warning, so they don't encounter nudity unexpectedly, as currently happens.

I hope you will take these factors into consideration. I am happy to discuss further.

I didn’t hear back for three months and had assumed it was dead in the water. Then yesterday, this email came out of the blue:

Hi Jeff,

Believe it or not, we've been working on this for a few months now since your email, has been all the way up the ranks and back down, we've spoken to WA Police, and the Shire as well, and we've come up with a solution.

We will be installing signage as you've recommended. Feel free to give me a call.

You can imagine my surprise and delight. I called him, and he said that after my second email, he couldn’t help but agree with my arguments, so he made the necessary enquiries to get the ball rolling. They're still working on the wording and getting the signs made, but they expect the signs to go up in the next few weeks.

This will effectively make the beach legally clothing optional under Western Australian law. Police can’t pull an Alexandria Bay on Lights Beach now because the signage would give nudists an ironclad defence that nudity on Lights Beach doesn’t constitute an indecent act. It will also keep prudes from inadvertently stumbling upon the beach and causing trouble, and it will let visitors to the beach who might not have otherwise known that they are allowed to strip off.

It is my hope that we’ll be seeing more people enjoying the beach naked now that they have legal certainty, and hopefully, more nudist tourists decide to pay a visit to my beautiful town of Denmark, Western Australia. Lights Beach is a beautiful place, and while it may not always be calm enough for swimming, there's plenty of fun to be had exploring the rocks, and playing games on the sand.

When I started this process, I honestly didn’t have high hopes. I think most of us don’t bother trying to create change because we don’t think it’s possible. Well, here’s an example of how one person, using nothing but sound arguments and a bit of tenacity, was able to make a real change at a local level. I encourage everyone to reach out to their local representatives and ask for an area to be allocated for clothing-optional use. We may not all succeed, but you never know if you don’t ask, and at the very least, we will let them know that nudists are out there, and we are politically active. 🪐

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted to the author’s personal blog on April 9th. You can see the original post here.