When a new building, subdivision or change of use is proposed in Brisbane, there is a formal path it must follow. Some applications must also be advertised publicly for formal comment, which gives the community a say. Anyone can formally support or oppose an impact assessable application. This explainer walks through that path using Brisbane City Council’s own guidance, without referring to any particular live application.
As-at date: Council pages checked at 9 November 2026. The statutory periods and submission rules below are dated to that check, and Council or the Planning Act can change them.
What a development application is and where City Plan fits
Brisbane City Plan 2014 is the planning scheme that guides how land in Brisbane is used and developed, and it sets out the requirements Council uses to assess development. Council’s City Plan online tool helps a person work out whether a project needs planning approval. Where approval is needed, the applicant lodges a development application, and every one goes through a set assessment process laid out in the Development Assessment Rules. That process is carried out under the Planning Act 2016 and the Planning Regulation 2017.
Preparation comes first. Council offers optional pre-application advice from its Planning Information Officers. Applications assessed as code or impact assessment use DA Form 1. Written consent from the owner must be supplied, and without it the application is incomplete.
Finding applications on Development.i
Council’s tool for looking up applications is called Development.i. It lets people look up past and current development applications and find basic property information. Searching does not require an account or login. Three search routes are offered: by location, by application number, or by zooming in on a map. On the map, applications are marked with blue dots. The results can be narrowed with filters, and one of them is assessment level, with options such as code, impact and notifiable code.
Creating a profile adds extras: saved searches, favourites and notifications. Those notifications can arrive daily or weekly. From a property, the tool also links through to City Plan online, where zoning, overlay and neighbourhood plan information sits.
Council is clear about the limits. Development.i is a spatial representation of properties linked to applications lodged with Council. For a purchase or a project that depends on accurate property details, Council points to its official property searches, which include building information searches, planning and development certificates and flood information searches.
What happens after lodgement
Council reviews each application to check it is properly made, and an action notice is issued for every application. At 9 November 2026, Council’s page said the applicant must respond within 20 business days, counting from the day after the notice was given. As at 9 November 2026, once an application is properly made, the assessment manager sends a confirmation notice within 5 business days of receiving the response.
Some applications are referred to outside agencies, generally Queensland Government departments and authorities with specific state interests. A concurrence agency may impose conditions and influence the decision, while an advice agency can only give advice. Council’s page at 9 November 2026 also said Council may send an information request, within 10 business days of the end of the confirmation period, and that the applicant then has 3 months to respond.
Public notification
Not every application is advertised. Some must be advertised publicly for formal comment. The ones notified are those subject to impact assessment and some change applications.
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The applicant carries the notification workload: publishing a notice in the locality, placing a notice on the land and notifying adjoining landowners. At 9 November 2026, Council gave the minimum notification period as 30 business days for a variation request and 15 business days for other application types. Per the same page, business days between 20 December and 5 January do not count towards it.
How submissions work
Anyone can formally support or oppose an impact assessable application, or an impact assessable change application advertised for public comment. A submission can come from a person, a group or an organisation. Submissions on these applications are made through Development.i. Before writing one, a person can check on Development.i that the application is open for submissions, along with its status, other submissions and the closing date.
As Council’s page stated at 9 November 2026, a properly made submission must say what it supports or opposes and why, be signed, and include each submitter’s full name and address. It also needs a postal or email address for each submitter and must reach Council before the closing date. Anonymous submissions are invalid.
Council asks submitters to concentrate on planning issues, such as whether the proposed use is consistent with the intent for the area in City Plan. Scale and design, how the development addresses the street, traffic and car parking are also listed. An expert can help with understanding the plans and reports.
Privacy matters here. Submissions are published on Development.i, and submitters can choose whether their personal details appear. Once an application is decided, the names and addresses of submitters are provided to the applicant under legislation. A submission can be amended before the closing date and withdrawn until Council makes its final decision.
A properly made submission carries a legal right to appeal Council’s decision. A comment on development that is not open for submissions does not. Separately, Council can invite submissions on proposed changes to City Plan itself.
After the decision
Council makes the final decision on a development application, and it must consider all submissions and inform the principal submitters of the outcome. As at 9 November 2026, applicants are notified of the outcome within 5 working days of a decision, per Council. A decision can be appealed in the Planning and Environment Court, and at 9 November 2026 Council’s page gave an applicant 20 business days to appeal.
Council must publish a notice about the decision on Development.i once the appeal period finishes or an appeal is lodged. Approval conditions are publicly available, and the approval and its conditions stay with the land regardless of a change in ownership.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone make a submission on a development application?
Anyone can formally support or oppose impact assessable applications, and impact assessable change applications advertised for public comment. A submission can come from a person, group or organisation.
Can I make an anonymous submission?
No. Anonymous submissions are invalid, and submissions are published on Development.i, though submitters can choose whether personal details are published.
Do I need to log in to search Development.i?
No. Council says you can search for property and development details without logging in, although a profile is needed to save searches and receive notifications.
Who decides a development application?
Council makes the final decision, and decisions can be appealed in the Planning and Environment Court.
