Not every development requires a development application. Queensland's planning framework includes provisions for accepted development, which allows certain types of development to proceed without any planning approval, provided the relevant standards are met. Understanding when an application can be avoided, and when it cannot, is one of the most valuable pieces of knowledge a property owner or developer can have.
What accepted development means
Under the Planning Act 2016, accepted development can proceed without a development approval. The local planning scheme identifies what is accepted in each zone, and sets out the standards that must be met for the accepted development to remain accepted. Where any of those standards are not met, the development is no longer accepted, it becomes assessable, and a development application is required.
Accepted development is not a free pass. Building approval may still be required (separately, under the Building Act). Other approvals, plumbing, drainage, fire safety, environmental, may also apply. The accepted development category only addresses planning approval.
Common accepted development
Examples of typical accepted development in residential zones include: a single dwelling on a lot that meets minimum size and frontage requirements; minor renovations or extensions to a dwelling that comply with siting and design standards; carports, garages, sheds and outbuildings within accepted size and location parameters; and (in some councils) secondary dwellings under 80m² that meet the relevant code.
In commercial zones, accepted development tends to include changes between similar use categories within the same broad classification (for example, between two types of shop) without changes to building form or operating intensity. The detail varies by scheme.
When accepted development becomes assessable
The most common reason an otherwise-accepted development becomes assessable is non-compliance with the relevant code. If any single requirement is not met, height, setback, site cover, lot size, frontage, design, the development falls out of the accepted category and a development application is required.
Overlays are another common trigger. A property in the Traditional Building Character Overlay, a flood overlay, or a heritage overlay may have additional triggers that move accepted development into assessable. A property report identifies the applicable overlays.
How to confirm
Confirming that a proposed development is accepted requires checking: the zone, all applicable overlays, the relevant tables of assessment, and every code that applies to the proposal. Each of these can change the answer.
For straightforward residential work, the council's online planning tools usually provide a clear answer. For anything more complex, overlays, multiple components, contested compliance with siting standards, confirming accepted development status with a town planner is cheap insurance against the cost of building first and being told later that approval was required.
Avoiding a development application is the cheapest planning outcome available, but it requires demonstrable compliance with every relevant standard, not just most of them. Confirming accepted development status before commencing work is the small cost that protects against the much larger cost of retrospective compliance.