Referrals
- Details
Some applications may need to be referred to another entity, such as a Queensland Government department, for their assessment. These entities are called referral agencies.
Following amendments to the Sustainable Planning Regulations made in August 2012 significant referral triggers for development applications have been removed. To determine if your application needs to be referred to a referral agency, see the Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009, schedule 7. You may also use the IDAS forms and guides or development assessment online section to assist you in identifying referral applications for your application.
There are two different types of referral agencies:
- concurrence agencies
- advice agencies.
A concurrence agency can direct the assessment manager to refuse the application, approve the application in its entirety or in part and impose conditions on any approval.
An advice agency can only provide advice to the assessment manager regarding the application. The assessment manager can, acting on this advice, impose restrictions or request modifications to the application. However, an advice agency cannot direct the assessment manager to decide the application a particular way or impose conditions.
It is recommended that you consult with referral agencies about your application prior to formally lodging the application. If you do this, you may not need to formally refer the application to the referral agency and therefore may reduce the overall timeframes for assessing your application.
The assessment manager and referral agencies may request further information about your application. If an information request is made, you may provide the information requested or you may refuse to provide any further information. However, as referral agencies and assessment managers use all relevant information to assess the application, not providing the information may affect their ability to fully assess the potential impacts.
Sustainable Planning Regulation Amendments
Selected referral triggers were removed as part of the Sustainable Planning Regulation Amendments in August 2012 and March 2013. These changes will save applicants processing time and costs.
Round one trigger amendments - August 2012
Removed referral triggers include:
- concurrence referrals for particular applications for preliminary approval by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning.
- concurrence referrals for purposes of community uses, places of worship, and education and care service premises or child care centres by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
- advice referrals for conservation estate areas, cultural heritage premises and wetlands by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
- advice referrals for premises affected by acid sulphate soils by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
Round two trigger amendments - 15 March 2013
The Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 was amended by the Sustainable Planning Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2013 on 15 March 2013, however some amendments did not commence until 25 March 2013.
The amendments result in significant improvements to referrals and other development assessment processes under the Sustainable Planning Act framework.
Amendments that commenced on 15 March 2013 include:
- simplified referrals for applications involving contaminated land
- simplified and reduced referrals for applications for coastal development
- removal of referrals for applications involving declared significant projects on strategic cropping land
- removal of referrals for applications under regional plans other than the South East Queensland Regional Plan
- reduced public notification periods for certain development so that it aligns with the general notification requirement of 15 business days
- the chief executive under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 prescribed as the assessment manager for applications involving an environmentally relevant activity and vegetation clearing
- removal of redundant provisions, including those relating to evidence of state resource allocation
- the regulation made consistent with assessment categories that may be prescribed for development under an airport land use plan.
Amendments that commenced on 25 March 2013 simplify and reduce transport related referrals for relevant development applications.
For more information about referral triggers that apply to your development application contact the relevant local referral agency (
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