Request for a referral agency response (Queensland Development Code build over or near stormwater)

For building works over or near stormwater infrastructure owned by Council, a request may be lodged with Council as a referral agency for an assessment against the Queensland Development Code M.P.1.4.

Amendment requests for previous advice relating to build over or near stormwater are not available. If you need to make any changes to the proposal and require additional advice, a new request and fee payment is required.

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Determine whether your building works require Council advice

The building certifier is the assessment manager for these applications and will be responsible for determining if the building works require a referral agency response from Council.

Council does not provide advice for build over or near sewer or water infrastructure. If you are building over a sewer or water pipe, you are required to lodge a request with Urban Utilities.

For building works over or near stormwater lines that are privately owned (also known as foul water lines), this does not require advice from Council. Due diligence must still be carried out by the owner to protect this infrastructure as it may still be in use. Please note: any future impacts or issues to private stormwater lines are managed as civil disputes.

For more information download the build over or near stormwater guideline (Word - 2.1Mb).

Standard assessment

This service is used for any type of building works over or near stormwater, where a full assessment will be undertaken and a referral agency provided by a Council engineer. Plans submitted must be designed and certified by a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).

If all relevant supporting information is provided at lodgement, Council will provide a response within 10 business days from the request being properly referred.

The fast-track assessment service is no longer available, as such all referral agency advice requests for building works over or near stormwater will require a standard assessment request.

How to apply

To request referral agency advice for building over or near stormwater, complete the request for referral agency response (QDC Build over or near stormwater) online form. You will be able to pay via the form or request a fee quote with alternative payment options.

You will be required to provide relevant documentation as part of lodgement. Before you complete the online form, you are encouraged to prepare the supporting documentation and information as outlined below.

Proposed plans

• The site plan shows the accurate location of the stormwater pipe/s in relation to the proposed works (including pipe invert levels and any maintenance holes on the site).
• All plans are designed and certified by a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).

Closed-circuit television (CCTV)

Detailed survey of the stormwater pipe/s and CCTV footage is a mandatory requirement as part of the request, and again after construction occurs. This is to ensure that the design is accurate and structural integrity of the pipe is not jeopardised as part of the works and is not damaged prior to construction.

Approximate locations for stormwater pipes will not be accepted.

You will not be able to proceed through the lodgement form if you do not have your detailed survey and CCTV footage available. Due to size limitations of the form, you will not be able to attach these documents within the lodgement form however after your request is received, a sharefile link will be provided to you. It is expected that this information is provided within one business day. Your request will not be accepted without this information.

After construction is complete, contact da-complianceengineering@brisbane.qld.gov.au and a sharefile link will be provided to you to provide post-construction CCTV footage and the detailed survey.

Confirmation notice from building certifier

As Council is a referral agency to the request, a confirmation notice from the assessment manager (building certifier) is required to be lodged with the request. This is a requirement of the Development Assessment (DA) Rules and the Planning Act 2016.

Council has prepared a template that the private building certifier may utilise – confirmation notice for building certifiers (Word - 1Mb).

Please note that this is not relevant for early referral requests submitted under section 57 of the Planning Act 2016.

The request must be lodged with Council within 10 business days of the Confirmation Notice date.

Consent from easement landowner

In most cases, stormwater infrastructure may be located within an easement. If this is the case, consent will be required from the owner and copies of easement plans will be required with the lodgement of your request.

If Council is the easement owner, you will be required to obtain consent prior to lodgement. This can be requested by emailing bi-landuse@brisbane.qld.gov.au.