How to Check Property Zoning in QLD: Zones, Overlays and Development Applications Before You Buy
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
How do you check property zoning in QLD? Search the address on your council’s online planning scheme map. In Brisbane that’s City Plan online, which shows the zone, overlays and neighbourhood plans that apply to a lot and can generate a property report.[1] Then search the council’s development application tool, such as Brisbane’s Development.i, for approvals on the lot and applications nearby.[2] Since 1 August 2025, the seller has had to give you a disclosure statement that includes the zoning of the lot before you sign,[3] but it doesn’t have to list previous building or development approvals,[3] so the checks below are still yours to do. This guide goes through them step by step, with the tools for seven South East Queensland councils.
Key takeaways
- Find the zone, precinct and overlays on your council’s planning scheme map: City Plan online in Brisbane, My property look up in Moreton Bay.[1][4]
- Check the zone next door too. In Brisbane’s low-medium density residential zone, townhouses or units of up to 3 storeys can be code assessable, and code assessable development doesn’t require public notification.[5]
- Only impact assessable applications are open to formal submissions, and only a properly made submission gives you the right to appeal the decision.[6]
- Inside a priority development area, applications are decided under a different Act, generally by Economic Development Queensland,[7] and may not appear in council’s search.[8]
Why zoning and nearby development matter to a buyer
Zoning sets what the planning scheme expects on a piece of land. Brisbane’s zones show the type of land use allowed on each site, such as residential, commercial, industrial or mixed-use, and its overlays flag local features that may bring special development requirements, such as flooding and heritage.[1] The zone next door matters as much as your own.
Take townhouses. In Brisbane, a multiple dwelling (3 or more dwellings, such as townhouses or units) is code assessable in the low-medium density residential zone at up to 3 storeys and 11.5 m in the “Up to 3 storeys” precinct, in the medium density residential zone at up to 5 storeys, and in the high density residential zone at up to 8 or 15 storeys, depending on the precinct.[5] Council describes code assessable development as expected development that doesn’t require public notification.[5] So if the house next door is in a low-medium density zone, a townhouse block of 2 or 3 storeys, depending on the precinct, could be approved there if it meets the codes, without ever being advertised for submissions.
Approvals on the lot matter too. A development permit can come with conditions, and every approval has a currency period: if development hasn’t started within it, the approval can lapse.[9] So a subdivision a listing calls “DA approved” may carry conditions you’d have to meet, or be close to lapsing. Our guide to what STCA and “DA approved” mean covers claims like these.
Step 1: Find the zone, precinct and overlays
In Brisbane, open City Plan online and search the address. The property is highlighted on the map, the map tools show the zones, overlays and neighbourhood plans that apply, and “View section” opens the planning scheme’s rules for each.[1] Switch the map layers on one at a time:
- Zones: the type of land use allowed on the site.[1]
- Overlays: local features that may apply special development requirements.[1]
- Neighbourhood plans: local area plans that guide housing and standards for new development.[1]
- Local government infrastructure plan: existing and planned infrastructure, including stormwater and transport networks, parks and land for community facilities.[1]
Then generate a property report, a brief summary of the City Plan requirements that apply to the site.[1]
In Moreton Bay, use My property look up. It shows the zone a property is in, such as General Residential or Rural Residential, the types of development allowed, and maps of accepted building heights and environmental issues such as acid sulfate soils and bushfire management.[10] Check the precinct as well as the zone: the MBRC Planning Scheme’s General Residential Zone includes a Next Generation Neighbourhood Precinct, intended for housing from small-lot houses to duplexes, townhouses and apartments.[11] Other councils’ tools are in the table further down.
Overlays are where the surprises usually are. Three that matter to buyers in Brisbane:
- Heritage and character. They aren’t the same thing. Local heritage places are on the heritage overlay, while character properties are mainly buildings from before the end of 1946. The Traditional building character overlay is intended to keep the pre-1947 streetscape, and houses built before 1911 are to be retained.[12]
- Demolition. You need planning approval to demolish a local heritage place, a building in the pre-1911 building overlay, or one in the Traditional building character overlay where the entire building was built before 1946.[13] If you plan to knock down and rebuild, check this before you offer. Our guide to buying a Queenslander covers character overlays in more detail.
- Flooding. Flooding is one of the considerations City Plan’s overlays cover.[1] Our Brisbane flood zone guide explains how to check a property’s flood risk properly.
To check heritage and character in City Plan online, apply the Heritage, Traditional building character, Commercial character building and Pre-1911 building layers, then download a Property Lot Report.[12] Acreage brings its own zone and overlay checks, covered in our guide to buying acreage in QLD.
In Brisbane, use Development.i. Search by address, lot number or application number, or on the map, where applications show as blue dots, and click through to City Plan online.[2] You can filter applications by progress, including those on public notification, by assessment level (code, impact and others), by date submitted or decided, and by use.[2]
Search the lot first for past approvals and their conditions, then drop a pin and look along the street and at the blocks behind. Council says this can help you identify development restrictions on a property and assess future development potential in the surrounding area.[14] Look for whether an approval on the lot has been acted on, and for impact assessable applications nearby, which are the ones open to submissions. Applications lodged before 1 January 2004 generally aren’t on Development.i, but council offers a historical records search for them.[14] With a profile, you can favourite a property and get daily or weekly notifications of new applications within a radius you choose.[2]
In Moreton Bay, use DA Tracker, which replaced PD Online. It shows applications back to 16 September 2006, although not documents from before 2009, and you can search by application number, by property, or by date range and keywords. Applications on public notification are listed in council’s Online Services.[4]
Development applications show what owners want to build. The planning scheme and the state show what’s intended:
- Infrastructure. Brisbane’s local government infrastructure plan layer shows existing and planned infrastructure.[1] Our guide to minimising risk when buying a Brisbane investment property covers what else to weigh up, and our Moreton Bay infrastructure guide lists the big projects there.
- Planning scheme changes. City Plan is regularly updated, and amendments open for public consultation are shown on City Plan online, where you can make a submission.[1]
- Priority development areas. Inside a PDA, applications are assessed and decided under the Economic Development Act 2012. Economic Development Queensland is generally the decision-maker and keeps its own register of applications, though some PDAs are delegated to councils, such as Ripley Valley to Ipswich and Moreton Bay Central to Moreton Bay. The state’s Development Assessment Mapping System shows whether a property is in a PDA.[7]
PDAs can be big. Moreton Bay’s Waraba PDA, declared on 2 August 2024, covers about 2,900 hectares next to Bellmere, Lilywood and Wagtail Grove and aims to provide 30,000 homes, and Economic Development Queensland is taking over the assessment of its applications.[15] On the Sunshine Coast, Development.i doesn’t list applications in the Caloundra South (Aura) and Maroochydore City Centre PDAs.[8]
Council’s online tools are for research, not settlement. Brisbane says property transactions shouldn’t rely on Development.i and that you should confirm the information with a planning and development certificate,[2] and Moreton Bay says DA Tracker must not be used for property transactions or settlements.[4]
A planning and development certificate gives written information about a property’s development approvals, infrastructure charges and planning scheme provisions. Brisbane offers three types:[14]
- Limited: for standard conveyancing matters, covering the planning scheme provisions, state planning instruments and designations, and infrastructure charges.[14]
- Standard: adds the decision notices for development approvals still in effect. Council says it mainly relates to commercial enterprises.[14]
- Full: the only one that says in writing whether the conditions of an approval have been complied with.[14]
None of them includes building approvals from before 30 March 1998 or copies of development plans, or says whether the current use is lawful.[14] Allow time, too: Moreton Bay issues a limited certificate within 5 business days, a standard one within 10 and a full one within 30.[16] If the price you’re paying relies on an approval, such as a subdivision or a dual occupancy, ask your conveyancer which certificate to order and allow for it in the contract of sale.
Queensland’s seller disclosure scheme started on 1 August 2025. The seller must give you a disclosure statement and the prescribed certificates before you sign the contract, or before the fall of the hammer at an auction. Part 3 of the statement covers land use, planning and environment, including:[3]
- the zoning of the lot
- proposed transport infrastructure notices the seller has been given
- any notice of intention to resume all or part of the property
- whether the land is on the contaminated land or environmental management registers
- tree applications or orders under the neighbourhood disputes law
- whether the lot is affected by heritage listing.
The seller doesn’t have to disclose the structural soundness of the building, its flooding history or previous building or development approvals. If you don’t get the statement, you may be able to terminate the contract up to settlement; for an inaccuracy, you must also show it was material, you didn’t know and you wouldn’t have signed.[3] Read it, then do the checks above anyway.
Use the zoning tool for the lot and its overlays, and the application search for the lot and the street:
| Council | Zone and overlays | Development applications |
|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | City Plan online[1] | Development.i, generally from 2004[14] |
| Moreton Bay | My property look up[4] | DA Tracker, from 2006[4] |
| Gold Coast | City Plan interactive mapping[17] | Development.i[17] |
| Sunshine Coast | Development.i Site Report[8] | Development.i, from 2007[8] |
| Ipswich | Ipswich City Plan 2025[18] | Development.i, from 2005[19] |
| Logan | Logan PD Hub property report[20] | Development Enquiry Tool[20] |
| Redlands | Red-e-map[21] | Development.i[21] |
Two things to know. Ipswich City Plan 2025 replaced the 2006 Ipswich Planning Scheme on 1 July 2025, so an older property report may show zones that no longer apply.[18] And like Brisbane’s and Moreton Bay’s, the Sunshine Coast’s and Ipswich’s tools don’t replace council’s official property searches.[8][19]
If a neighbour lodges an application after you’ve bought, what you can do depends on its assessment level. Anyone can make a submission on an impact assessable application, and a properly made submission gives you the legal right to appeal council’s decision through the Planning and Environment Court. On an application that isn’t open for submissions you can only comment, with no appeal right.[6]
In Brisbane, a properly made submission must:[6]
- say which aspects you support or oppose, and why
- be signed by each person making it
- give each person’s full name and residential or business address, plus a postal or email address
- reach council before the closing date.
Anonymous submissions are invalid, submissions are published on Development.i (you can choose whether your personal details appear), and once the application is decided, submitters’ names and addresses are given to the applicant.[6] Across Queensland, the appeal right depends on the submission being properly made, meaning written, signed, specific and made by the due date, and it doesn’t apply to State facilitated development.[9]
Before we offer on anything with upside, we check the zoning, overlays and any development application history, because a plan that looks possible on paper may not be supported, as our FAQ says. We review the property report and overlays before you commit, not after the contract goes unconditional, and we check the flood and bushfire overlay maps for the property itself, not just the suburb. We’d rather you bought near funded, visible infrastructure than near a promise or a rezoning that may never proceed. Tim Allen has personally inspected and negotiated all 128 properties IPS Buyer’s Agents has bought since 2023. See our buyer’s agent services and fees, and our suburb reports for Brisbane and Moreton Bay.
Before you offer, find the zone, precinct and overlays, search the lot and the street for development applications, and look at what’s planned nearby, including any priority development area. Then confirm anything the price relies on with a planning and development certificate. The seller’s disclosure statement gives you the zoning of the lot, not its approvals history or what the zones next door allow.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is based on published guidance from seven councils, the Queensland Government and Economic Development Queensland, which can change. It is not legal or planning advice and does not consider your circumstances. Get advice from your solicitor or conveyancer, and from a town planner if you plan to develop, before you buy.
If you’re buying in South East Queensland and want the zoning, overlays and development history checked before you offer, book a time with Tim Allen.
- Brisbane City Council — City Plan online (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Development near me (Development.i) (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Seller disclosure scheme (last updated 21 July 2025)
- City of Moreton Bay — DA Tracker (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Multiple dwellings (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Have your say on an application (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Economic Development Queensland — Applications and approvals (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Sunshine Coast Council — Development.i what information is available (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning — What is development assessment? (last updated 4 December 2025)
- City of Moreton Bay — My property look up (accessed 15 November 2026)
- City of Moreton Bay — Next Generation Neighbourhoods (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Heritage and character properties (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Demolition or removal (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Brisbane City Council — Find development applications (accessed 15 November 2026)
- City of Moreton Bay — Waraba Priority Development Area (PDA) (accessed 15 November 2026)
- City of Moreton Bay — Property searches (accessed 15 November 2026)
- City of Gold Coast — Find development applications (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Ipswich City Council — Superseded Planning Scheme and Ipswich City Plan 2025 (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Ipswich City Council — Development.i frequently asked questions (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Logan City Council — Development Enquiry Tool (accessed 15 November 2026)
- Redland City Council — Development tools and advice (accessed 15 November 2026)
How do I find out what a property is zoned in Queensland?
Search the address on your council’s online planning scheme map. In Brisbane, City Plan online shows the zone, overlays and neighbourhood plans for a lot and can generate a property report; in Moreton Bay, My property look up shows the zone, precinct and overlay maps. The seller’s disclosure statement must also state the lot’s zoning.
How do I find development applications near a property in Brisbane?
Use Brisbane City Council’s Development.i. Search by address, lot number or application number, or on the map, and filter by progress, including applications on public notification, and by assessment level. Applications lodged before 1 January 2004 generally aren’t there. With a profile, you can get daily or weekly alerts about new applications near a property.
What is the difference between code and impact assessable development?
Both need a development application. Code assessable development is assessed against the relevant codes and, in Brisbane City Council’s words, doesn’t require public notification, so neighbours can only comment. Impact assessable development is publicly notified, and a properly made submission gives the right to appeal the decision. Accepted development needs no application at all.
Does the seller have to tell me the zoning in Queensland?
Yes. Under the seller disclosure scheme that started on 1 August 2025, the disclosure statement must include the zoning of the lot, along with matters such as transport infrastructure notices and heritage listing. It doesn’t have to include previous building or development approvals or the flooding history, so check those yourself before you sign.
What is a planning and development certificate?
It’s a council certificate giving written information about a property’s development approvals, infrastructure charges and planning scheme provisions. A limited certificate covers standard conveyancing matters, a standard one adds the approvals still in effect, and only a full one says whether an approval’s conditions have been met. In Moreton Bay, a full certificate can take 30 business days.
Can I object to a development application next door?
Only if it’s open for submissions. Anyone can make a submission on an impact assessable application during its public notification period, and a properly made one, written, signed, specific and made by the due date, gives you the right to appeal. Code assessable applications aren’t publicly notified, so in Brisbane you can only comment, with no appeal right.