Development Applications
in Brisbane
Preparation, lodgement and management of material change of use, reconfiguring a lot and other development applications with Brisbane City Council and councils across South East Queensland.
- Code and impact assessable applications under Brisbane City Plan 2014
- RiskSMART eligibility checked before anything is prepared
- Gym, hospitality, retail and medical fit-outs and change of use
- Planning and Environment Court appeals run by the same team
In Brisbane, the category of assessment decides almost everything. Whether your proposal is accepted, code assessable or impact assessable under City Plan 2014 sets the timeframe, the cost, whether neighbours get a say, and whether anyone can appeal the decision.
Prestige Town Planning prepares and manages development applications with Brisbane City Council and the surrounding South East Queensland councils.
Brisbane applications are assessed under the Planning Act 2016, the Planning Regulation 2017 and Brisbane City Plan 2014, with zone codes, neighbourhood plans and overlays layered on top. We work on material change of use, reconfiguring a lot, operational work and building work assessable against the planning scheme, for commercial, industrial, mixed-use and residential projects.
The outcome is mostly settled before lodgement. We confirm the category of assessment, check the site against every code that applies, and answer the performance outcomes the assessing officer will test the proposal against. That is what keeps an application out of a long information request cycle.
If council refuses the application or attaches conditions that don’t work, we don’t hand it to someone else. We run change representations, change applications and appeals to the Planning and Environment Court.
And if the site can’t support what you want to build, you’ll hear that on the first call. We don’t bill for work you don’t need.
Why Choose Us for Your Brisbane Development Application
Business fit-outs are our core work
Fitness, hospitality and retail approvals are where we've done the most work. Studio P Architecture has partnered with us on more than fifty projects over the past decade, and operators including an Anytime Fitness franchisee and Jym Group have used us across multiple sites.
One team, end-to-end
You deal with the same planner from the first call to the decision notice and beyond. We coordinate the traffic engineer, acoustic consultant, surveyor and anyone else City Plan calls for, so every report answers the same questions.
Applications written for how Brisbane City Council assesses them
Code assessment in Brisbane turns on performance outcomes and acceptable outcomes. Where a proposal departs from an acceptable outcome, we argue the performance outcome in the planning report, so the officer doesn't have to raise it in an information request.
Honest reads, not over-promises
If your site can't support what you're trying to build, you'll hear it on the first call. We'd rather lose a brief than walk a client into a refusal.
Our Brisbane Development Application Services
Everything below is part of the same engagement. Most Brisbane projects need several of them.
Category of assessment and RiskSMART check
Not every project needs a development application. We check the proposal against the tables of assessment in City Plan 2014 and tell you where it sits: accepted development, accepted subject to requirements, code assessable or impact assessable. For low-risk code assessable work, we also check it against Brisbane City Council’s RiskSMART criteria, which target a decision within 10 business days of a properly made application.
Material change of use applications
Approval to start a new use on a site or increase the scale or intensity of an existing one: a gym in a warehouse, a café in a shopfront, a medical centre, a childcare centre, a place of worship, multiple dwellings. We handle the planning case, including car parking, hours, acoustic, waste and amenity issues, and the infrastructure charges that usually follow a new use.
Reconfiguring a lot applications
Subdivisions, boundary realignments, and the access and easement arrangements that come with them. We assess lot size, frontage and access against the zone, the neighbourhood plan and the subdivision provisions of City Plan 2014 before the survey plan is drawn.
Town planning reports and code responses
The document that carries the application. A town planning report that responds to each applicable code and, for impact assessable proposals, makes the broader planning case, written for your site rather than lifted from a template.
Pre-lodgement meetings, information requests and referrals
We run pre-lodgement meetings with Brisbane City Council where the proposal needs one, respond to information requests, and manage referrals to the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) where a state trigger applies, such as a site near a state-controlled road.
Change applications and extensions
Minor and other changes to approvals you already hold, requests to change or cancel conditions that don’t work in practice, and extension applications before an approval’s currency period lapses.
Conditions and infrastructure charges
Conditions and an infrastructure charges notice usually arrive with the decision. We review both, and where a condition is unworkable or a charge looks wrong, we make representations to council during the appeal period rather than letting the window close.
Planning and Environment Court appeals
Appeals against refusals, conditions and deemed refusals in the Queensland Planning and Environment Court, including the court’s alternative dispute resolution process. We also advise on whether an appeal is worth running before you commit to one.
Not sure which service you need?
Most people calling us can describe the project but not the category of assessment. That’s normal, and it’s the part we work out for you. Tell us the address and what you want to do there.
Our Brisbane DA Process Explained
We don’t just lodge applications. We manage the journey from early planning advice through to the decision notice and beyond. Here’s how it runs for Brisbane projects.
Site
Assessment
We check the zone, neighbourhood plan and overlays that apply to your site under City Plan 2014, and confirm the category of assessment and what's realistically achievable.
Planning
Advice
With the codes mapped, we set the approval strategy, flag anything that could trigger impact assessment or a SARA referral, and tell you what each supporting report needs to answer.
Application
Preparation
We prepare the town planning report, coordinate the supporting consultants and lodge with Brisbane City Council. Then we manage information requests and keep the application moving through assessment.
Certification &
Coordination
Once the decision notice is issued, we work through the conditions and coordinate the handover to your building certifier, so nothing on the approval becomes a problem on site.
Post-Approval
Support
Designs change and conditions get tested. We stay across the project after approval, including change applications and extensions where the build moves on from the approved plans.
We Specialise in Brisbane DAs for
- Business operators opening, relocating, expanding or fitting out premises, including gyms, hospitality, retail, medical, childcare and education
- Multi-site brands rolling out across Brisbane, SEQ and interstate who want one team handling approvals in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria
- Developers pursuing multiple dwellings, mixed-use, commercial, industrial or reconfiguring a lot projects
- Commercial property owners and investors testing what a site can support under City Plan 2014
- Architects and designers who want the council pathway managed while they focus on the design
- Property owners and buyers planning a house, dual occupancy or extension, or checking a site before they sign
If you’re still at the “is this even worth pursuing” stage, that’s the cheapest point in the whole process to get an answer. Ask before the site is bought, not after.
Proven Results That Speak for Themselves
With hundreds of successful projects across Australia, our numbers say it all.
Brisbane Development Application FAQs
Do I need a development application in Brisbane?
Not always. Brisbane City Plan 2014 sorts development into accepted development, which needs no planning approval, and assessable development, which does. Some accepted development only qualifies if it meets set requirements. Prestige Town Planning checks the tables of assessment for your site before any documents are prepared, so you only apply for what the project actually needs.
What's the difference between code and impact assessment?
Code assessable applications are assessed against the planning scheme’s codes, must be approved to the extent they comply, and aren’t publicly notified. Impact assessable applications are assessed against the whole planning scheme, must be publicly notified for at least 15 business days, and anyone who makes a properly made submission can appeal the decision. Impact assessment takes longer and carries more risk, which is why we confirm the category first.
How long does a development application take in Brisbane?
It depends on the category of assessment and how complete the application is when lodged. Under Queensland’s Development Assessment Rules, council has a 35 business day decision period, and any information request gives you up to three months to respond. Impact assessable applications add at least 15 business days of public notification, while eligible RiskSMART applications target a decision within 10 business days. We give you a realistic timeline for your site before you lodge.
What does a development application cost in Brisbane?
There are four separate costs: Brisbane City Council’s application fee, set by its annual fees and charges schedule; any infrastructure charges levied with the approval; the supporting consultants your site needs; and the planning fee. Prestige Town Planning scopes each Brisbane application and quotes a fixed fee before work starts, and tells you which supporting reports the site genuinely needs.
Is my project eligible for RiskSMART?
RiskSMART is Brisbane City Council’s fast-track stream for low-risk, code assessable applications that are decision-ready when lodged. Eligible types include new houses and extensions, some centre activities in a centre zone, and other low-risk code assessable work where technical matters have been resolved through council’s pre-lodgement service. We check the criteria before preparing anything, and if a small design change would bring the proposal within them, we’ll tell you.
What is a material change of use?
A material change of use is the Queensland term for starting a new use on premises, re-establishing a use that has been abandoned, or materially increasing the scale or intensity of an existing use. Converting a warehouse into a gym, a shop into a café or a house into a medical practice are common examples. Whether it needs approval depends on the zone and the category of assessment in City Plan 2014.
Council refused our application or imposed conditions we can't work with. What now?
You generally have 20 business days from the decision notice to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court. Within that window you can also make change representations asking council to reconsider conditions or an infrastructure charges notice, which can pause the appeal period while council considers them. The deadline is strict, so get advice quickly.
Do you have an office in Brisbane?
No. Prestige Town Planning’s office is in East Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, and Brisbane projects are run remotely by phone, email and video. We attend site visits, council meetings and Planning and Environment Court proceedings in person as required.
How do we get started?
Call and describe the site and what you want to do with it. You’ll get an initial read on the category of assessment and whether the project is achievable, and if it’s worth going further we’ll scope the work and quote a fixed fee.
Tell us about the Brisbane site and we'll tell you where it stands
One conversation is usually enough to know whether a project is achievable, which category of assessment it falls into, and what getting it approved involves.