After you lodge your application Council follows a set process to deliver a decision in an efficient timeframe. Timeframes depend on the type of application submitted and whether further information, referrals or public notification are required.
Assessment manager
Your application will be allocated to an assessment manager who will be your primary point of contact and act as a partner during the assessment process. Your assessment manager will be available to discuss your application, the assessment process, and to help resolve any issues that might arise.
The assessment manager will assess your application against the planning scheme and any relevant State policies and planning instruments to make a decision in accordance with the Planning Act 2016. Read about assessment criteria for development applications.
Referrals
Under the Planning Act 2016 a development application may trigger a requirement for referral to a 'referral agency'. Referral agencies are generally Queensland Government departments and authorities that have specific State interests (for example State road networks and transport corridors). The Planning Regulation 2017 identifies the specific development triggers for an application to be referred. If your application requires referral, Council will issue you with a confirmation notice that identifies the required referrals. In most cases, this means you will need to provide a copy of your application and Council's confirmation notice to the Queensland Government State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA). Before Council can make a decision on your application, Council must receive a referral agency response, which may include conditions and advice about your proposed development.
Information request
If further information is required to fully and properly assess your application, you may be issued with an information request. Your assessment manager will contact you to discuss this prior to issuing any information request. Depending on the type of development you are proposing and the application material you submit, you may be required to submit additional plans and reports, and seek further advice, permits or approvals. Under the Planning Act 2016 you can advise Council that you do not agree to accept an information request. It is important to be aware that not providing sufficient information to support your proposed development can impact the decision made on your proposal, and in some instances may even result in your application being refused.
Public notification
The Planning Act 2016 requires public notification for some development applications to make the public aware of the development and enable them to make submissions about it.
Public notification is required when:
- any part of the application requires impact assessment
- the application includes a variation request to override a planning scheme.
Public notification informs the community and stakeholders of the proposal and enables them to make submissions that Council must consider in its assessment of the development application. When submissions are received for impact assessable applications, Council must describe in the decision notice the matters raised in the submissions and how those matters were considered in assessing and deciding the application.
A ‘properly made’ submission secures the submitter the right to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court about the decision if they disagree with part or all of the decision.
Note: Even if an application does not need public notification, the community can still have their say on the proposal, but the right to appeal Council’s decision to the Court is not available to them. Read more about making a submission.
Decision stage
Your assessment manager will contact you once your application enters the decision stage and provide you with an estimated timeframe for when you can expect a decision to be made.
If your application is being recommended for approval, draft conditions may be sent to you during the decision stage. This will give you the opportunity to review approval conditions that are likely to be imposed on your development and raise any queries you may have before the decision is made. Given the statutory timeframes that must be met, the assessment manager may outline a time/date that you need to respond by.
You will receive a decision notice within five (5) days of Council making a decision.
Council is required to provide a reason for its decision, including why a development may have been approved despite a conflict with the relevant planning instruments. The reasons for decision are published in the decision notice and made available through Development.i.
What we need from you
To help us decide your development application efficiently and effectively we need:
- well made development applications
- complete responses to any information requests (where sought)
- your response to draft conditions (where applicable).