Frequently Asked Questions

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Maybe. Your local government planning scheme determines the rules about subdividing land in your area.  The zone and land size are big influences on the ability to subdivide so checking the planning scheme requirements and site constraints can give us a good feel for whether your proposed subdivision is likely to be approved by Council or not.  Call us to have a chat about your particular circumstance and we can give you site specific advice on your proposed subdivision.

No. While preparing quotes can take some time, at Concept Planning and Development Consultants we don't believe you should have to pay to find out how much it will cost you to make an application for your development. 

What would you like to do?  That is the first question that a town planner will ask you when you pose this question.  The Queensland planning system is performance based, and while there may be a particular zone on your site, the limitations on what you can do are usually determined by what you want to achieve and how much of a fight you want to put up (which usually goes along with how much money you want to throw at the project).  While some things will be more desirable than others, there are only a few things that are 'prohibited' under the Planning Act 2016.  If you can come up with an idea of what you would like to do, we can do an appraisal of the site to assist you in determining if the site you have chosen is the right one for your proposal or if there is an alternative that would work better and be a simpler solution.

The cost of a town planner preparing a development application can be anywhere from $4000 upward and is dependant upon the nature and scale of the proposal, the complexity of the proposal, the constraints of the site and the finish of the final project.  There are a number of costs involved in even the simplest of development proposals and your project feasibility or budget should take into account things like design costs, specialist consultant fees, application fees, searches, construction costs, project management, additional development permits and authority approvals and Council infrastructure charges to name a few.  

Yes. We can help you prepare your building application forms and collate the information required to lodge it with your chosen certifier.  

No.  But we can recommend someone.

For the most part, development application timeframes in Queensland are defined by the Planning Act 2016 and can take anywhere from 6 weeks for a code assessable application to more than 12 months for an impact assessable application.  The length of time for approvals is dependant upon a lot of factors including the time it takes for specific information or application material to be prepared by your specialist consultants, the volume of applications being lodged at your Council at the time of application, the time it takes the applicant to respond to requests for information and whether or not extension of time is agreed between the applicant and Council or referral agencies.   Designing your proposal before you even lodge the application can sometimes take a considerable amount of time.

A referral agency is an authority who has an interest in the proposal but is not determined by the Planning Act 2016 to be the assessment manager.  Referral agencies can be the State Government, utility providers or owners or sometimes even Council.  A third party referral agency is an authority that may have an interest but, does not usually have the power to tell the assessment manager what to do, only provide advice in regard to the proposal.

Maybe.  Only the assessment manager can make that determination.  We will make the best effort possible to present your proposal so that the assessment officer will support your application and recommend it for approval.  The application doesn't always get support from the assessment manager and in that case, they may decide to refuse it. 

'Material change of use' is defined in the Planning Act 2016  and essentially relates to a new use commencing on the site, re-establishment of a use on the premises that has previously been abandoned or a material increase in the scale or intensity of an existing use of the premises.

No, but it is advisable. If you want to lodge the application with the assessment manager yourself you can.  Be aware that there are a number of hurdles and checkpoints that you must hit to make sure you don't cause your application to lapse.  The process of how an application runs through the assessment is set out in the planning legislation.  Several triggers and fail points exist in the process and only some of those can bring your application back to life if it lapses.  Engaging a town planner is the best way to make sure your application runs as smooth as possible but also, your town planning consultant understands the process and can respond to the Council or referral agency in whatever way is necessary to move the application forward. Please make sure if you do prepare and lodge the application yourself that you don't breach copyright and submit another consultant's work with your name on it.    

Yes, of course. If you receive an action notice and you need assistance, we can help you to prepare any material needed to satisfy the actions identified.  If you want, we can manage the application through to the end so you don't get stuck again, or we can just provide you with what you need, and let you move on with managing the application yourself.   Oh, and if your action notice is about non-payment of application fees, we can't help you with that, you just need to pay it. Sorry.

Absolutely! We will help you work out everything from filling out the forms for a pool fence application to a certifier right through to planning a major development.  We can get you on the right track.