The Gold Coast and Queensland are in Australia, so you're 100% on the money. You see Surf Life Saving raffles for gorgeous homes and cars all the time. I imagine the laws in our country (I'm also in Australia, though not Australian) mean the advertised prizes have to be winnable.
there are also raffles for entire houses held in the vancouver bc area, for a children's hospital and a few other charities. the houses/property really do exist and there really is a winner each year. it's my understanding that these do see a fair bit of legal scrutiny and oversight to make sure everything is above board, tickets are like $100 or $300 a piece.
We get the car parked in the shopping centre with big "WIN THIS CAR" signs. Entry is $5-10 per ticket though, so it seems feasible there's actually a winner somewhere along the way (My assumption is a Mustang appears in a few shopping centres at once and one is ultimately given away, for example).
