A Temporary Local Planning Instrument, or TLPI, is a short-term planning tool that allows a local government to amend its planning scheme quickly without going through the full scheme amendment process. TLPIs are typically used in response to urgent planning issues, state government direction, or emerging circumstances that require an immediate planning policy response. Understanding whether a TLPI applies to your property is part of pre-application due diligence.
How TLPIs work
TLPIs are made under the Planning Act 2016 and have effect for up to two years (extendable in some circumstances). During the period of effect, the TLPI overrides any inconsistent provisions of the planning scheme. They are used because the full planning scheme amendment process can take 12–18 months, too slow for issues that need immediate response.
Common uses include: addressing a sudden surge of applications for a particular use that the council considers inappropriate; implementing state government direction quickly; responding to court decisions that have created planning gaps; and managing the lead-up to a substantive scheme amendment by providing interim controls.
Examples of TLPI use
Examples of TLPIs adopted by Queensland councils have included: introducing additional controls on short-term accommodation in particular precincts; restricting subdivision in flood-affected areas pending revised flood mapping; adding character overlay protection to areas before formal planning scheme amendment; and managing material change of use applications in fast-changing growth corridors.
TLPIs are deliberately a fast tool. The council's process to adopt one is shorter than a normal scheme amendment, with limited public consultation. Once adopted, the TLPI is published and forms part of the planning framework for the period of its effect.
How to find out
Most local governments publish TLPIs on the same page as their planning scheme. A property report, or the council's online planning tool, should disclose whether any TLPI applies to a particular property, but it is worth confirming this directly, particularly for applications being prepared close to the time a TLPI was adopted.
TLPIs are subject to regular review by the state's Planning Minister. Where a TLPI is found to be unjustified or improperly made, it can be revoked. This is uncommon but not unprecedented.
Implications for applicants
If a TLPI applies, it must be addressed in the planning report supporting the application. Where the TLPI imposes more stringent requirements than the underlying scheme, the proposal must demonstrate compliance with the TLPI, not just with the underlying scheme.
TLPIs are sometimes the catalyst for invoking superseded scheme assessment, where the TLPI has imposed restrictions that did not exist in the previous scheme, and the proposal could have been progressed earlier.
TLPIs are an important but sometimes overlooked layer of the Queensland planning framework. Confirming whether a TLPI applies to a property, and how it affects the proposal, is a routine but essential part of pre-application due diligence.