Planning and building economic recovery initiatives

To help our city recover from the impacts of coronavirus, a range of free and discounted services were made available.

Planning and building economic recovery initiatives:

• dedicated House and Homes Assessment Team
• faster assessment for a request to change a development approval
• reduced minimum value for bonding uncompleted works
• Brisbane green buildings incentive
• other infrastructure charges incentives.

Dedicated House and Homes assessment team

Council has a team to prioritise and assess small domestic scale applications (other than subdivisions) to stimulate new building and construction, particularly smaller scale projects that align with Australian Government initiatives and provide work for smaller and medium businesses.

The eligibility criteria and use types for assessment via the House and Homes team are:

• new dwelling house
• extension to dwelling house (including sheds and carports) 
• dwelling house triggered by an overlay (new house and extensions to an existing house)
• demolition (including partial) of a dwelling house
• dwelling house with a reconfiguration of a lot (one into two)
• dwelling house with boundary realignments (not including LGIP matters)
• section 81 and s82 changes to a development approval where associated with any of the above application types.

To support the streamlined assessment of all development applications lodged with Council, applicants are encouraged to submit well-made applications at the time of lodgement. This means completed Council lodgement forms, plans and reports outlining the proposed development against the relevant requirements of Brisbane City Plan 2014.

Faster assessment for a request to change a development approval

A network of dedicated Council officers streamline the assessment process where minor changes (Planning Act 2016 s81) are required to the plans and/or conditions of an existing development approval that is 'shovel ready'. This will assist projects where minor changes are required at key milestones of construction or to respond to changed circumstances resulting from the coronavirus pandemic to prioritise these decisions, to avoid delays in achieving the final delivery of the project.

'Shovel ready' definition:

• when there are change applications for existing approvals as a result of compliance/enforcement/plan sealing (where the constructed development does not reflect the approval); or
• where there are challenges during construction and proactive change requests are made to solve problems on site; and
• where the operational work approvals are all in place and contractors have been engaged. This case would include changes to development staging, changes to uses in existing built form and referrals from the 133 PLAN Building and Construction Hotline.

Council will target a turnaround of 20 business days for code assessable, well-made change applications. This excludes time during which the application’s progress is subject to the applicant’s action.

To support the streamlined assessment of all development applications lodged with Council, applicants are required to submit well-made applications at the time of lodgement (e.g. completed Council lodgement forms, plans, reports outlining the proposed development against the relevant requirements of Brisbane City Plan 2014). Council’s Request to Change a Development Approval lodgement form has been updated to assist customers to meet the well-made lodgement requirements. Changes to gross floor area or building height are not included.

Reduced minimum value for bonding uncompleted works

To assist companies with cashflow, the minimum value of works eligible for consideration for a bond has been reduced. Requests for Council to accept a bond for uncompleted work (Reconfigure a lot) or relating to conditions of approval (Material Change of Use), may now be accepted where the value of work outstanding is greater than $25,000 (previously the minimum value of work accepted for bonding was $50,000 or above).

Brisbane green buildings incentive policy

This new incentive encourages the development of new, well-designed, green and energy-efficient residential and commercial office buildings. It aligns with our vision of a world-class, design-led city and recognises the benefits of green infrastructure, including positive impacts for the environment, economy and health and well-being for our community.

Eligible developments that meet one of the determined design criteria will receive a financial incentive equivalent to 50% of the infrastructure charges paid for Council networks.

Design criteria include a range of design element options that encourage developments to move towards best practice green and energy-efficient design in Brisbane.

Find out more about the Brisbane Green Buildings Incentive Policy and check if your development is eligible.

Other infrastructure charges incentives

Council offers other infrastructure charges incentives, such as the universal housing design incentive for developments designed to meet the accessibility needs of residents, and charges reductions for eligible community organisations and retirement and aged care accommodation.

Find out if your development may be eligible for other infrastructure charges incentives.