Frequently Asked Questions
Planning and Regulatory Services Response to Frequently Asked Questions
The following responses to Frequently Asked Questions provide answers to a wide range of planning and development matters relevant to the Ipswich Local Government Area. For more information on any question or answer outlined below, you can contact Council’s Planning and Regulatory Services Department during business hours (8am to 4.30pm) on (07) 3810 6888, via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au or in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich.
FAQs Index
Development Applications
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Public Notification for Impact Assessable Applications
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Building and Development Compliance
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Other Development Matters
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Subdivision Plans
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Naming & Street Numbers
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Other Matters
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Every development application must go through a standard process from lodgement to decision. This ensures all applications are assessed with the right information, by the right people, and follow the same process.
The process is set out in a statutory instrument called the Development Assessment Rules (or DA Rules).
There are five key parts to the formal DA process - application, referral, information request, public notification, and decision. Depending on the development being applied for, the required steps in each part may vary. Not all parts will apply to all development applications – for example, only impact-assessable applications and applications involving a variation request require public notification.
Throughout the process notices are exchanged between assessment manager and applicant. This ensures the application tracks smoothly through the system.
Before the process begins, and after it finishes, there is:
- pre-lodgement — voluntary but advisable
- appealing a decision — optional.
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You can find out more about the State’s role in development assessment here.
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The ability to develop a property for a particular purpose can be influenced by a myriad of factors. If you are not experienced in property development, it would be prudent to engage development professionals to act on your behalf, and assist you to navigate the legislative pathway to development approval. Ipswich City Council and the QLD State Government provide access to key planning documents and tools at Planning and Buillding and https://planning.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/ which may assist you, including Council’s Development.i and the Ipswich City Plan 2025.
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Development applications are the legislative mechanism of receiving approval for development on a property. Development means carrying out building work, plumbing or drainage work, operational work, reconfiguring a lot, or making a material change of use of premises. Undertaking development may or may not require a development application, depending on the activity, zone, overlays etc. Development may be exempt, self-assessable, code assessable or impact assessable. The Planning Regulation may also make development prohibited, accepted or assessable.
Every development application must go through a standard process from lodgement to decision. This ensures all applications are assessed with the right information, by the right people, and follow the same process.
The process is set out in a statutory instrument called the Development Assessment Rules (or DA Rules).
There are five key parts to the formal DA process - application, referral, information request, public notification, and decision. Depending on the development being applied for, the required steps in each part may vary. Not all parts will apply to all development applications – for example, only impact-assessable applications and applications involving a variation request require public notification.
Throughout the process notices are exchanged between assessment manager and applicant. This ensures the application tracks smoothly through the system.
Before the process begins, and after it finishes, there is:
- pre-lodgement — voluntary but advisable
- appealing a decision — optional.
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Aspects of development include:
- A material change of use
- Reconfiguration of a lot
- Operational work, and
- Building work.
In general, development is accepted, unless otherwise specified in the Planning Regulation, or where a planning scheme makes the development assessable rather than accepted.
The Ipswich Planning Scheme identifies development which is exempt, self-assessable, code assessable and impact assessable. The Planning Regulation may also make development prohibited, accepted or assessable. From a planning scheme perspective, to determine whether you need to lodge an application for the development you wish to undertake, you need to determine the zone that is applicable to your property and any overlays that apply. You can use the Ipswich City Plan 2025 to determine what can be developed in a particular zone. For example, in the relevant zone code the development categories will be identified as consistent or inconsistent and as exempt, self-assessable, code assessable or impact assessable. If a particular development requires code or impact assessment, you will be required to lodge a development application. The overlays code applies in addition to the zone code, and may ‘bump’ the level of assessment for a particular development category to code or impact assessment, even if it is nominated as exempt or self-assessable in the relevant zone code. The zone and any applicable overlays for a property can be ascertained by using the Ipswich City Plan 2025. Simply type in a current Property Address, and search results will be returned showing the Address, Zoning Information and Planning Scheme Overlays. The Ipswich Planning Scheme layers can be used to provide further information.
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To receive assistance or advice in relation to development or preparing a development application, you should contact a consulting development professional, such as a town planner or cadastral surveyor.
You can also obtain information on development applications by contacting Council’s Planning and Regulatory Services Department via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au or via the following form. Council also offers a free pre-lodgement development advice service.
As Council has a statutory role as the assessment manager for most development applications, the advice and assistance that can be provided by Council officers is limited to the development application requirements applying to a particular property and proposal (as opposed to commercial feasibility, site selection, development costs etc).
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It is recommended that you engage with Council prior to lodging a development application to ensure that you are aware of the relevant Ipswich City Plan 2025 provisions that are applicable to the development, and any information required to be lodged with the application. Preliminary pre-lodgement advice is free of charge and can be provided over the telephone, via email or for particularly complex matters, in a formal pre-lodgement meeting.
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Yes, development proponents are encouraged to discuss their intentions with Council prior to lodgement, especially for more complex applications. To request a pre-lodgement meeting, please contact us via our online request form. This will allow the relevant Council officers to review your proposal and ensure that appropriate Council personnel (planning, engineering and environment staff) can be invited to the meeting to give feedback.
If your enquiry is more general related, our town planning staff are also available to assist with enquiries via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au or via the following form. For more complex enquiries it is highly recommended that you make a pre-lodgement appointment.
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No, you do not need to attend a prelodgement meeting in person. Pre-lodgement meetings can also be held via exchange of written correspondence or as a Microsoft Teams appointment.
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There are two categories of assessment for assessable development, namely code and impact assessment.
A code assessment is an assessment that must be carried out only—
- Against the assessment benchmarks in a categorising instrument for the development (i.e. the Ipswich City Plan 2025); and
- Having regard to any matters prescribed by regulation.
An impact assessment is an assessment that—
- Must be carried out—
- Against the assessment benchmarks in a categorising instrument for the development (i.e. the Ipswich City Plan 2025)
- Having regard to any matters prescribed by regulation; and
- May be carried out against, or having regard to, any other relevant matter, other than a person’s personal circumstances, financial or otherwise.
Impact assessable applications also require public notification to be undertaken.
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When preparing a development application, the applicant must meet certain criteria to ensure it is properly made. These stipulations mainly relate to:
The state sets out the minimum required information in the DA forms.
If critical information is missing from the application, the applicant will be asked to provide this information before the assessment begins.
It is recommended that you discuss additional supporting information requirements with Council prior to lodging your application.
Ipswich City Council also has a Development Application Lodgement Form (PDF, 724.2KB) to streamline the application lodgement process. Applicants are encouraged to provide a completed copy of this form with their application.
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The cost of the development application will depend upon the type and scale of the proposed development. The costs of submitting development applications are specified in Council’s Register of Fees and Charges for the relevant financial year. Application fees do not include the costs associated with preparing the development application (such as supporting information and consultants’ fees) and, in the event that Council requires a specialist study reviewed by an independent consultant, this additional cost must also be paid by the applicant.
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Council’s preference is that development applications are lodged electronically via email to plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au. Council also maintains a Large File Transfer program called Hightail for the sending and receipt of large documents. If you are unable to submit your application electronically, a hard copy of the application can be submitted in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich, or posted to Ipswich City Council at PO Box 191, Ipswich QLD 4305.
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Sometimes a development application may require additional assessment. In these cases, the application is considered by a referral agency. The DA Rules establish the process and requirements for how a referral agency receives, assesses and gives their response to a development application.
A referral agency is an agency outside Council, such as a State Government agency or an infrastructure provider, who has jurisdiction (as prescribed in Schedule 10 of the Planning Regulation 2017) to comment on a development application, in relation to the aspects of that application that are relevant to the agency.
All responses by a referral agency must be considered by the assessment manager in making their decision. Some referral agencies can direct assessment managers, not just advise them.
It is normally the applicant’s responsibility to refer an application to the appropriate referral agencies. A referral agency may require a fee for the assessment of the proposed development. Please contact the referral agency directly regarding this matter.
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If your application is impact assessable, you will be required to undertake public notification during the application process. The public notification process includes notifying adjoining owners. Part 4 of the DA Rules outlines the requirements for undertaking public notification. In addition, the State Government’s Fact Sheet: Public notification signage under the Planning Act 2016 provides instructions for how to meet the signage requirements under the Planning Act 2016.
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If an application is undergoing a formal Public Notification process, the application is impact assessable. For a submission about a development application to be considered a “properly made submission”, it must be made to (and received by) Council during the notification period. The submission must:
- include the name and residential or business address of each person who made the submission;
- include the grounds of the submission and the facts and circumstances relied on in support of the grounds;
- be made to the assessment manager; and
- be in writing and signed by each person who made the submission.
If the submission is made on behalf of a number of submitters, it must also include a postal or email address that can be used for correspondence relating to the submission.
The submission can be made online via Council's Development Application Submission Form, sent via email to plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au, lodged in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich or posted to Ipswich City Council, PO Box 191, Ipswich QLD 4305.
If an application is ‘code assessable’, there is no formal public notification process or associated appeal rights. Notwithstanding, a submission can still be considered in the assessment of the application.
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Anyone can make a submission to Council regarding a development application that is undergoing public notification.
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The timeframe for processing development applications will vary depending on the type and complexity of the application, any referral agencies, and whether the application is impact assessable and requires public notification. Some simple applications will be eligible for Council’s Fast Track Application process. Eligibility for Fast Track applications is determined by Council after an initial review of the application lodgement. Fast Track applications are determined within five (5) business days of the receipt of all relevant material required for the assessment of the application.
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Development.i allows users to search for development applications using a location search, application search or map search. Development.i provides access to past and current application details and basic property information for the Ipswich City Council area so people can stay informed about what is happening in their area, gather information to help prepare applications, make a submission or comment on an application. For further information about searching ‘How to use' Development.i, videos are available here.
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Yes, submissions are not confidential and any submission will be published online when it is received, however contact details contained within the submission will be redacted prior to publishing including any contact details contained in the submission. The content of the submission will remain on Development.i, and it is a requirement under the Planning Act 2016 that the decision notice for the application must include the name, residential or business address, and electronic address of each principal submitter.
If you do not supply your name and contact details with the submission, it cannot be considered a properly made submission. If your submission is not properly made, you will not have appeal rights in relation to the decision or be advised when the submitter appeal period commences, though Council will still consider the contents of the submission in the assessment of the application.
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Council publishes online a list of reasons for making a decision on a development application (the Statement of Reasons). This Statement of Reasons can be accessed via an application search on Development.i. If you are not happy with a development decision made by Council, it is advisable to first view Council’s reasons for making the decision. When reviewing the decision, please note that in making a determination on a development application, Council will balance a range of considerations, seeking the best overall outcome for the community. If you are still concerned about the decision on the development application, you can contact the assessing officer assigned to the application to ask further questions.
In the event you lodged a properly made submission within the Public Notification period for an impact assessable development application, you will be notified by Council when the ‘submitter appeal period’ commences. Once this period has commenced, you can lodge an appeal against the decision made by Council to the Planning and Environment Court, in accordance with the requirements identified in the Planning Act 2016.
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Development approvals are required for most property uses other than lawful residential occupation. This also applies to changes in the type or scale of a property use. More information about land uses and other development that require an approval can be found here. The correct approvals must be obtained before commencing most building and development work. More information about building work that requires an approval can be found on Council's building approvals webpage.
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All development approvals have conditions that must be complied with. Building work is subject to a building permit issued by a building certifier that regulates the work during the project. In many cases, the building certifier is a private consultant who is not regulated by Council.
All other development such as land use and earthworks require development approvals that are regulated by Council’s Development Planning Branch. Many of the conditions included in a planning approval remain in force after the construction and during the relevant use. An applicant may submit a request for a Compliance Certificate to confirm whether the relevant conditions of a development approval have been complied with.
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Council enforces laws that regulate certain property use and building work. Complaints about these matters are investigated by Council’s Development Compliance section. More detailed information about Council’s powers on regulating property use and development can be found on the Building and Development Compliance webpage.
If you are experiencing disruption or impacts or are worried about possible damage or harm from property use, building work or development, you can make a complaint to Council.
More detailed information on how Council handles complaints about property use, building work and development can be found here.
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All development applications for development assessable against the Ipswich Planning Scheme, where lodged after 1 January 2005, are available online through Development.i. To obtain a copy of a development approval that is not available online, please contact Council’s Planning and Regulatory Services Department during business hours (8am to 4.30pm) on (07) 3810 6888, via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au, in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich, or by completing the online Property Search Form. Note that a fee is payable to obtain a copy of a development approval. For payment options, refer to Planning & Development Fee Payment available on council's website.
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If you are purchasing a property that includes a Commercial or Business use, or any use other than a single residential use, it is recommended that you also apply for a Planning and Development Certificate. There are three (3) types of Planning and Development Certificates(PDF, 160KB), and the content of each certificate is provided in the Planning and Development Certificate Fact Sheet (PDF, 195.6KB).
For example, a Limited Planning and Development Certificate may provide you with details of any warning notices or compliance actions that Council has instigated in relation to any illegal building works or land uses that may have been reported to Council and will also provide details of any outstanding infrastructure charges that may be payable with respect to a development approval issued for the subject property.
It is recommended that you seek independent legal advice to determine the most appropriate search or planning and development certificate to undertake as part of your due diligence prior to purchasing a property.
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If a proposed advertising device complies with Schedule 9 – Exempt Advertising Devices(PDF, 189KB), or meets the criteria for temporary advertising devices outlined in Subordinate Local Law (Amending) Subordinate Local Law No. 3.1 (Commercial Licensing) 2019, a development application is not required. In all other circumstances, a development application will most likely be required and will be assessed against the requirements of the Advertising Devices Code(PDF, 1MB) of the Ipswich Planning Scheme.
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Prior to the commencement of a use, and in accordance with the conditions of the relevant development permit, it is the owner, occupier and/or operator of the proposed use that has responsibility for ensuring compliance with development conditions.
If you wish to determine whether your development is compliant with the conditions of the development approval you can submit a request for a Development Compliance Certificate along with payment of the relevant fee by completing the following form, Planning and Development Certificates/Searches and Development Compliance Certificates Form(PDF, 160KB).
Please note such applications are accepted only from the original developer, builder or development owner within 24 months of completion of the development. If the development is not compliant at the time of inspection, a Compliance Certificate will not be issued, and a refund or partial refund will not be applicable.
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It is not possible to sell individual dwellings/units that are located on the same title. Should you seek to individually sell units on the same title, you will need to ensure the units are ‘subdivided’ under a Building Format Plan. The Building Format Plan will need to be submitted to Council for review and approval, prior to formal lodgement of the document with the Title Office.
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Subdivision plans and associated supporting documentation can be lodged electronically via email to plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au, in person on the Ground Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ipswich, or posted to Ipswich City Council, PO Box 191, Ipswich QLD 4305. Council’s Plan of Subdivision Lodgement Form (PDF, 893.1KB) must accompany each request for the signing of a subdivision plan. Council also maintains a Large File Transfer program called Hightail for the sending and receipt of large documents.
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The standard timeframe for the assessment of a subdivision plan is twenty (20) business days, where all conditions of all approvals have been complied with and the required documentation submitted. Notwithstanding, Council strives to reduce this timeframe by assessing appropriate subdivision plans through a ‘Fast Track’ assessment process within five (5) business days. Signing of subdivision plan requests for minor or simple reconfigurations that do not require an operational works approval may be considered for ‘Fast Track’ assessment.
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The costs of submitting an application for the signing of a subdivision plan is specified in Council’s Register of Fees and Charges for the relevant financial year. Refer specifically to section 4.5.1 – Signing of Subdivision Plans.
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Council has responsibility under the Local Government Act 2009 to number and name roads. Council also has powers under its Local Laws with regards to the use and display of the correct street number by the owner of the land.
The display of an incorrect number may cause serious consequences should an emergency services vehicle be called and not be capable of locating the correct property.
More detailed information on Street Numbering is available on Street Numbering Fact Sheet.
Ipswich City Council is responsible for street naming and the allocation of house numbering. To request street naming and/or house numbering, please send an email to plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au outlining the request. Street numbering is assessed in accordance with the Australian/New Zealand Standard for Rural and Urban Addressing.
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House numbers are allocated in accordance with the Australian/New Zealand Standard for Rural and Urban Addressing. In some circumstances, it is possible to change your address to the other street. An investigation would need to be undertaken to ascertain the suitability of the proposed address in relation to the primary entrance to the property, and emergency service identification and access to the property. Please contact Council’s Development Compliance section on (07) 3810 6888 for more information.
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An application for naming of a road, park or bridge is to be submitted in writing. The application should be accompanied by information regarding the background/history of the proposed name and a duly completed copy of Council’s Naming Request Form (PDF, 280.0KB). Once an application for a road, park or bridge naming is submitted to Council, it will be considered by Council’s Development Compliance section. Duplicate names close to the site and the relevance of the proposed name to the area are key criteria against which proposed names are assessed. Once a request has been considered and assessed, the applicant will be notified in writing of the approved name for the road, park or bridge. Council is responsible for naming both public and private roads.
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It may be possible to find out the history behind your street or road’s name. Where possible, Council officers will provide you with the history/background on the naming, and the date of the road naming approval. For more information, please contact Council’s Planning and Regulatory Services Department during business hours (8am to 4.30pm) on (07) 3810 6888 or via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au.
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Council officers are able to confirm your property’s official street address. For more information, please contact Council’s Planning and Regulatory Services Department during business hours (8am to 4.30pm) on (07) 3810 6888 or via email plandev@ipswich.qld.gov.au.
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Generally, neighbours are required to contribute equally to building and maintaining a sufficient dividing fence between their properties. If one owner wants to construct or carry out work on a fence beyond the standard for a sufficient dividing fence, that owner is generally liable for the additional costs. Your legal rights concerning a fence between your property and your neighbour’s property are covered by the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011. More information about dividing fences is available on the State Government’s website.
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Whenever possible, you should solve any dispute directly with your neighbour. It is always better to reach an agreement with your neighbour and avoid the possibility (and costs) of a legal dispute. The State Government has developed a number of tips for resolving fencing disputes. Mediation offers an alternative way of settling disputes without the need for legal action. Mediation and dispute resolution is cheaper, easier and quicker than going to a court or tribunal.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) can help resolve neighbourhood fence disputes valued up to $25,000. QCAT can also make a legally enforceable decision on the matter. Going to QCAT should be seen as a last resort. It’s much better if you can resolve the problem together and stay on good terms with your neighbour.
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Gaming (such as poker machines) and liquor licensing is regulated by the State Government (Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation) and not Council.
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Council’s Local Laws permit the erection of a range of temporary signs on footpath areas without an approval, provided that particular standards are achieved (such as location, length of time, size and number of signs). Council’s Subordinate Local Law (Amending) Subordinate Local Law No. 3.1 (Commercial Licensing) 2019 sets outs the relevant provisions. Council’s Local Laws generally require a licence for any goods to be displayed on the footpath.
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