Dogging in Melbourne and Victoria

Melbourne has been Australia’s dogging capital for a long time. Back in 2006, when WhosDogging was a forum full of Australians, Melbourne members were already telling everyone their scene was the one Sydney had to catch up with. Twenty years on, not much has changed: Victoria has the biggest and best-organised outdoor scene in the country, from the bayside suburbs to the goldfields. This is how it works, and how to get involved.

Why Melbourne leads the way

Melbourne has more people into dogging, swinging and public play than any other Australian city, and – just as importantly – they’re organised.

Melbourne’s online dogging community has tens of thousands of followers, and it isn’t a free-for-all. New posters are sent a checklist of what a good post includes, people who make women feel unwelcome are shown the door, and newcomers asking about etiquette get patient, practical answers. Women who take part say they read messages carefully, looking at how someone writes and how they talk about women elsewhere, before replying – and that most of the people they meet are respectful.

Melbourne also has a big swingers’ scene, with clubs, private parties and couples’ social nights, and a lot of crossover with dogging. Many couples start at a club or a nude beach and end up curious about the thrill of playing outdoors, or the other way round.

Where people go in and around Melbourne

Melbourne’s dogging happens in the same kinds of places as everywhere else, just more of them – somewhere you can park after dark with some privacy and a clear view of who’s coming.

• Bayside beach car parks, all the way round Port Phillip, especially on warm nights.
• Footy ovals and sports reserves once training has finished and the lights are off.
• Industrial areas and the edges of the docks, which empty out completely at night.
• Reserves in the outer east, towards the Dandenong Ranges, for couples who like it more remote.

Some of the best-known inner-city spots are shared with gay cruising grounds, where a regular crowd of straight watchers turns up too. If you end up somewhere like that, be respectful and don’t assume anyone is there for the same reason you are.

We don’t name exact spots, and neither do regulars. A place that gets posted everywhere fills up with gawkers, the neighbours complain, and before long it’s patrolled or locked at night. Couples who want company usually say which part of Melbourne they’re heading to, then share the details privately with the people they’ve chosen.

Geelong and the Surf Coast

Geelong’s scene is much smaller than Melbourne’s, and locals say it can be quiet – which is exactly why people there keep trying to get regular meets going.

That isn’t new. On the old WhosDogging forum in 2006, a Geelong member asked everyone in the area to say hello so they could organise a group, and the same request still turns up online today. If you’re in Geelong, getting to know people first, rather than driving round hoping, makes all the difference.

Down the coast near Torquay is Point Impossible, a legal clothing-optional beach. It’s also a lesson in what not to do. In 2006, nearby residents complained about men meeting for sex in the dunes behind the beach; the dunes were fenced off with keep-out signs, police patrolled, and the local council asked the state government to remove the beach’s nude status before deciding to keep it. It’s a remote spot with a rough road and patchy phone reception, and regulars advise against going late at night.

The Mornington Peninsula

The Peninsula’s bayside beaches are popular with couples on summer evenings – locals will tell you there’s no need for a club when you’ve got a coastline like that.

It’s also home to Sunnyside North at Mount Eliza, Melbourne’s only clothing-optional beach and one of just three in Victoria. It was declared under Victoria’s Nudity (Prescribed Areas) Act in the 1980s, and in December 2022 the local council voted to keep its status after strong public support – but with closer scrutiny of behaviour and further reviews. Naturists who use it ask visitors not to treat it as a swinging or dogging spot, and the most common complaint from women there is being stared at. Enjoy it for what it is, keep your eyes to yourself, and save anything more for somewhere else.

Ballarat, Bendigo and regional Victoria

Outside Melbourne, Victoria’s scene is spread thin, and the couples who are into it often have to get things started themselves.

In Bendigo, couples post that they’re heading out on a particular night and invite others along, because otherwise nothing much happens. Regional swingers also run couples’ meet-and-greet nights, including in Bendigo and Sunbury, which draw a mostly forty-to-fifty-something crowd and a growing number of younger couples. With longer distances between towns, meeting people online first matters even more out here.

Things to know before you go in Victoria

• Melbourne weather rules. Rain and cold keep most people at home, and some regional regulars stop altogether over winter. The scene comes alive in the warmer months.
• The clocks help. When daylight saving ends in autumn, it’s dark early enough for an evening out on a work night.
• Check the gates. Many parks and reserves lock their gates at night, and the times change with the seasons. Read the signs or park outside.
• Remote means remote. At coastal and bush spots, phone reception can drop out. Tell someone where you are going.
• Trust your instincts. If a car park feels wrong, or the people in it do, leave.

Staying on the right side of the law in Victoria

There’s no law against dogging by name in Victoria. What matters is whether people who haven’t chosen to be involved could see you.

Victoria’s Summary Offences Act covers sexual exposure and indecent behaviour in, or within view of, a public place – and a car park, a lookout and a beach all count. Even on a clothing-optional beach, only nudity is allowed, and only inside the marked area. Parking somewhere at night or chatting to people you’ve met online isn’t against the law, and police tend to get involved when someone complains. Choose quiet places and late hours, keep it out of sight, and move on if anyone else turns up. Our guide Is dogging legal? has more; it’s general information, not legal advice.

Meeting other doggers in Victoria

The easiest way into Victoria’s scene is to meet people before anyone sets off.

WhosDogging has been bringing doggers together since 2006, and Melbourne members were there from the start. Creating a profile is free. You can see who’s in your part of Victoria, message them and agree what everyone wants before you meet – whether you’re in the inner suburbs, down the Peninsula or out past Ballarat. The people you’ll find here are genuine members who are into exactly what you are. For more on the rest of the country, see Dogging in Australia, and for a taste of the local scene, read Port Melbourne Packs a Punch.