Site plans and approval in Queensland
Site plans and assessments in minutes, anywhere in Queensland, drawn over the real lot.
How approval works in Queensland
In Queensland a building certifier, usually a private one, gives the building approval for work on a house lot, and the council comes in for the parts it controls. The smallest structures are accepted development and need no building approval when they meet the state's standards. Anything larger needs building approval, and a structure that sits closer to a boundary or the street than the siting rules allow also needs the council's agreement to a siting variation; an overlay or the zone in the council's planning scheme can add a planning approval on top. The certifier and the council read the site plan for where the structure sits against each boundary, the house and any easement. Its size, its height and its distance to each boundary decide which way it goes, as per the Queensland Housing Code and the Building Regulation 2021.
Drawing the plan
Type the property address, the lot’s real boundaries load from official land records in Queensland, and you place the structure over the aerial view. The plan prints to scale with boundary lengths, setback distances, a north arrow, a legend, a site coverage table and a title block, as the site plan for a building approval or a DA.
What a certifier in Queensland will ask you
Is the patio, shed or carport attached to the house?
Whether it fixes to the house changes how it is classified, and so what the certifier checks near the boundary. The sheet says which it is.
How close to the boundary can it go?
The distance to each boundary decides whether the work can stand where it is drawn or needs an application for a closer position, and close to a side or rear boundary the fire rules apply too. The sheet dimensions the distance from the structure to every boundary.
Is the lot in an overlay, and what is the zoning?
A flood, bushfire, heritage or character overlay can bring a planning approval on top of the building approval, and the zone decides which of the council’s rules apply. The mapped overlays are read at the lot as the structure goes on the plan.
Are there easements, sewer mains or other services?
Work near a sewer or water main goes to the asset owner before the certifier can sign it off, on a timeline of its own. Mapped easements and mains show on the lot as it loads.
Who gives the approval, and who draws the plan?
The certifier or the council gives the approval, and the site plan can come from the builder, the supplier, a drafter or the owner, as long as it is clear and to scale. A surveyor comes in where the position of a boundary on the ground has to be fixed.
How big is it, and how big is the lot?
The size and the height decide whether the structure needs building approval at all, and the council can add limits that step with the lot’s size. The sheet prints the lot’s area and the running total of site cover.
Is the patio a pergola, a louvred roof or a solid roof?
An open pergola and a roofed patio are treated differently near the boundary, and louvres that shut to shed water count as a roof. Roofed, it also adds to the site cover total on the sheet.
Is the carport open, or closed in?
How open the carport is changes whether it needs a fire rated wall near the boundary, and a roller door or a later enclosure reopens the question. A shed never takes the open carport exemption.
How big can a granny flat be, and how far from the house?
The council caps a granny flat’s floor area, and some councils also limit how far from the house it may stand. The sheet prints the floor area and dimensions the distance to the house.
How deep is the pool?
The depth decides whether the water needs a barrier, and the barrier has to be in place before the pool is filled. The barrier is what gets inspected, so the sheet shows where it runs and every gate with its swing.
How high can a retaining wall and a fence go?
Each takes its own height test, and a retaining wall carrying a fence has its own approval. Both heights go on the sheet for the certifier to read together.
The figures for your own lot are read in a minute, from its address.
Councils we hold facts for
Other councils in Queensland
The state rule above applies here, and at each lot the editor checks the state’s mapping for flood, bushfire, landslide, heritage and native vegetation.
- North Burnett
Changes on the way
Rule changes announced for Queensland, its councils and the whole country, each with the page that says so and the day we read it.
In the next 90 days
Nothing due in the next 90 days that we know of.
Later
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Logan Planning Scheme 2015, TLPI No. 1/2024 (risk based flood mapping and policy)
The temporary risk based flood provisions that stand in for the scheme's flood rules expire on 6 March 2027 unless repealed sooner
Source logan.qld.gov.au, read
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Brisbane City Plan 2014, Amendment package S (planning scheme policies)
Updates planning scheme policies: bushfire hazard assessment, mapping and mitigation guidance, and a new standard drawing for narrow and shared driveways for single dwellings
Source brisbane.qld.gov.au, read
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Logan Planning Scheme 2015, new flood TLPI (endorsed 6 October 2026)
Source logan.qld.gov.au, read
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National Construction Code 2025
NCC 2025 replaces NCC 2022 as the building code in Queensland
Source qbcc.qld.gov.au, read
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ABCB Housing Provisions 2025 (with NCC 2025)
Source abcb.gov.au, read
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AS 1926.1:2024 Swimming pool safety barriers
NCC 2025 cites the 2024 edition for pool barriers, so it reaches each state that takes NCC 2025 without a variation; Western Australia keeps the 2012 edition for private pools
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Housing Provisions Part 10.8
Class 1a condensation: wall membrane vapour permeance now by climate zone including zones 1 and 3 for the first time, cavity mandatory in zones 6, 7 and 8, new roof space clause 10.8.4
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Housing Provisions Part 9.2
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Volume Two Part H6, Specification 42 and Housing Provisions Section 13
Energy and whole of home for a class 1a do not tighten: 7 stars and whole of home 60 stay, with small changes on overhangs and waffle pod slabs
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Volume Two Part H8
Livable housing for a class 1a is unchanged in substance
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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State Planning Policy (draft)
A new draft State Planning Policy, with a natural hazards approach and one statewide flood mapping method; comment closed on 26 October 2026 and the State reviews the feedback before a final policy is made
Source statements.qld.gov.au, read
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Temporary Local Planning Instrument 01/2026, Table of assessment for building work
The temporary rules for class 10a building work in Table 5.7:1 end on 16 February 2028 unless an amendment replaces them sooner
Source tr.qld.gov.au, read
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National Construction Code, residential pause
No residential changes to the NCC except essential safety and quality changes until mid 2029
Source treasury.gov.au, read
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Queensland Housing Code
The transition ends and the Housing Code applies in every council area
Source business.qld.gov.au, read
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National Construction Code, next edition
The edition after NCC 2025: the regular NCC 2028 moves back one year because of the pause on residential changes
Source abcb.gov.au, read
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Logan Plan (new planning scheme, replaces Logan Planning Scheme 2015)
A new planning scheme for the city; no other amendment of the 2015 scheme is in progress meanwhile
Source logan.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Brisbane City Plan 2014, Amendment package P (planning scheme policies)
Updates the landscape design, planting species and vegetation policies: deep planting, tree protection zones for significant vegetation and compensatory planting
Source brisbane.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Brisbane City Plan 2014, Major amendment package L
Source brisbane.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014, Amendment Package 1 (Building Better Neighbourhoods)
First package from the scheme review: zoning and zone map refinements, updated overlay codes and mapping, local plan changes, clearer development codes and definitions, and a new LGIP
Source haveyoursay.frasercoast.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
MBRC Planning Scheme 2016, Major Amendment No. 4
In the mapped bushfire areas of the general residential, township, centre and industry zones, houses and class 10a buildings lose their exemption, so AS 3959 applies
Source moretonbay.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Redland City Plan 2018, Major Amendment 02/25 (Residential)
Source yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Scenic Rim Planning Scheme 2020, Major Amendment No. 8
Improvements found in using the scheme and the first phase of the Growth Management Strategy 2041, with zoning map changes
Source letstalk.scenicrim.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme (new, replaces the 2014 scheme)
A new planning scheme for the region
Source haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au, read
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No date yet
State-wide Bushfire Hazard Area (Bushfire Prone Area) mapping, published 2026
The state replaced its statewide bushfire prone area map on 29 October 2026, for councils to use in preparing planning schemes; a scheme's own bushfire overlay changes only when that scheme is amended
Source tiles.arcgis.com, read
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No date yet
AS 3959:2018 Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas
The publisher lists the standard as pending revision; no new edition or draft is listed
Source store.standards.org.au, read
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No date yet
AS 4678-2002 Earth retaining structures
The publisher lists the standard as pending revision; no new edition or draft is listed
Source store.standards.org.au, read
What we changed in Queensland
The rules we hold for Queensland and its councils, each brought up to date from the page it names, the newest first.
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Rules
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Rules
Read from ipswich.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from qbcc.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from ipswich.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
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Rules
Read from housing.qld.gov.au
The sources we read for Queensland
71 sources read for Queensland, the newest on , each below with the day it was last read.
Planning schemes and codes
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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Logan Planning Scheme document bucket, new version folder appears here first
Changed since the read before
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Changed since the read before
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No change
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No change
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QLD SPP guidance, natural hazards
No change
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No change
Fees
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Changed since the read before
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No change
Pages watched for changes on the way
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No change
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Brisbane: Major amendment package L
No change
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Business Queensland: building and plumbing newsflashes
Changed since the read before
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Gold Coast: City Plan amendments
No change
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Moreton Bay: planning scheme amendments
No change
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Townsville: City Plan and its amendments
No change
Building code
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No change
Standards
Follow Queensland in a feed reader: www.rapidsiteplan.au/site-plan/qld/feed.xml. Every council and state has one, listed on rule changes by council and state.
General information only, not building or legal advice: your certifier or council makes the approval decision.
Plans for the job
Questions people ask
Other states and territories