QLD planning resource · Free

How to Get a Council Planning Report in Queensland

Find your QLD council, then follow the step-by-step instructions to download the free planning report for your property. All 77 Queensland LGAs covered.

Property buyers, planning applicants, designers, conveyancers and agents who need their property's planning controls (zone, overlays, codes) before contracting, designing or applying.

Use the free Council Finder Free QLD Council Finder

Why finding QLD planning info is harder than other states

Unlike Victoria (where every property has a free Vicplan PPR) or New South Wales (where the NSW Spatial Viewer generates a free property report for any address), Queensland has no state-wide property planning report tool. Planning controls live at the council level, and each of the 77 QLD councils has a different way of presenting them.

The QLD government runs two state-level mapping systems — SPP IMS (State Planning Policy) and DAMS (Development Assessment Mapping System) — but the PDFs they generate cover only state hazards and SARA referral triggers. They don't include the zone, overlays or planning controls that govern what you can actually do with a property. For that you need the council report.

Some councils — Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Logan, Ipswich, Townsville, Cairns and a handful of others — generate a high-quality address-keyed property report PDF that covers your zone, overlays and key planning controls in one document. Others only publish PDF zone maps you have to interpret yourself, or require you to call the council and request information.

This free tool maps every QLD council to whatever planning report tool they offer — direct deep-link to the right page, with council-specific instructions for getting the property report. If your council doesn't offer one, we point you to their planning scheme page so you can read the scheme directly.

Major councils with strong online tools

These councils have well-developed online planning tools that generate address-keyed property reports — typically the easiest path to the planning controls for your property.

Brisbane City Council — Brisbane City Plan Online (cityplan.brisbane.qld.gov.au) generates a Property Lot Report covering zone, overlays, neighbourhood plan, and applicable codes for any address.
City of Gold Coast — PD Online + City Plan ePlan (cityplan.goldcoast.qld.gov.au) generate detailed property reports including Stage 1 LMR / Pattern Book status.
Sunshine Coast Regional Council — Development.i Site Report (developmenti-site-report.scc.qld.gov.au) generates a comprehensive PDF.
Logan City Council — Logan PD Hub (loganhub.com.au) generates a Property Report PDF including Logan Plan 2025 transitional information.
Ipswich City Council — Ipswich Planning Scheme Mapping (maps.ipswich.qld.gov.au/weave/planscheme.html) generates a Property Report.
Townsville City Council — Site Report tool (sitereport.townsville.qld.gov.au) auto-generates a Planning Property Report.
City of Moreton Bay — My Property Look Up tool (moretonbay.qld.gov.au/mbrc-planning-scheme/mplu/) covers MBRC + new City of Moreton Bay scheme.
Cairns Regional Council — Property Report Tool generates an exportable PDF for any CairnsPlan 2016 address.
Toowoomba Regional Council — Development.i (pdonline.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au) plus ArcGIS REST mapping generates property reports.
Bundaberg Regional Council — Online services + interactive mapping generate a Parcel Report.

What the council report typically contains

Most QLD council property reports cover similar ground:

Lot details — lot/plan number, area, frontage, parent parcel.
Zone — typically the QPP-standardised zone (LDR / LMR / MDR / Mixed Use / etc.) with the local schedule reference.
Overlays — Heritage, Bushfire Hazard, Flood Hazard, Coastal Hazard, Acid Sulfate Soils, Vegetation Management, Koala Habitat, Industry Buffer, Airport Environs.
Neighbourhood Plan precincts — for major centre and suburb-specific master plans.
Applicable codes — Dwelling House Code, Multiple Dwelling Code, Centre Code, Industry Code, etc., depending on the use.
Lot constraints — mining tenement overlays, gas pipelines, transmission corridors, koala SPRP.

When the council report isn't enough

The council planning report is a great starting point but it's not a complete due-diligence pack for non-trivial development. The council report doesn't include:

Title-level restrictions — covenants, easements and registered dealings on the title. These can prohibit specific uses regardless of what the planning scheme permits. Order a QLD Title Search ($34+) for these.
State-level referral triggers — SARA matters under the Planning Regulation 2017 Schedule 9 (state-controlled roads, koala habitat, coastal management). Run our forthcoming Property Snapshot to capture state matters alongside council planning.
Form 2 vendor disclosure obligations — sellers under the Property Law Act 2023 (commenced 1 Aug 2025) need additional matters in their disclosure pack beyond the council report.
Building Code (BCA) implications — particularly relevant for change of use where a BCA Class change triggers fire/accessibility/structural retrofits.
ABS demographics — useful for market sizing, available via our council pages at /councils/qld/[slug].

Statutory framework

QLD planning is governed by the Planning Act 2016 (Qld). Each council planning scheme is made under the Act and the Minister's Guidelines and Rules. Most councils use the standardised Queensland Planning Provisions (QPP) v4.0 template — common zone codes and definitions across schemes — but each council adopts a subset and tailors local controls.

The State Planning Policy 2017 (SPP) sets state-wide policy positions integrated into council schemes. SARA (State Assessment and Referral Agency) processes state-significant referrals under the Planning Regulation 2017.

Planning Act 2016 (Qld)

Qld

Planning Regulation 2017

Qld

QPP v4.0

Queensland Planning Provisions

State Planning Policy 2017

SPP

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't QLD have a state-wide property report like NSW or Vic?

Historical reasons. Queensland's planning framework devolves the property-level planning data to the local council. The state mapping systems (DAMS, SPP IMS) cover state interests (hazards, SARA triggers, regional plans) but the zone, overlays and code applicability are council-by-council. There's been periodic discussion of consolidating into a state-wide tool but no firm announcement.

I've used the council report tool but it doesn't show some things — why?

Council reports vary materially in depth. Brisbane's Property Lot Report is comprehensive; some smaller councils only publish PDF zone maps with no per-property tool. If your council's report doesn't cover something specific, the planning scheme document on the council website is the next-best source. For complex matters consider our Title Search (covers title-level restrictions) and the upcoming Property Snapshot (covers state matters via DAMS + SPP IMS).

How accurate are these council planning report tools?

Highly accurate for current scheme data — councils auto-generate from the same GIS layers they use internally. The main accuracy risks are: (1) schemes amended very recently (controls may not yet be in the report); (2) overlays sourced from external state datasets that the council updates periodically; (3) edge cases at lot boundaries where overlays partially cover the property. Treat the report as a strong starting point but verify critical findings before lodging a DA.

Can I share the council report with my designer / lawyer?

Yes. Council planning reports are public information generated for any user. There are no restrictions on sharing the PDF with your design team, conveyancer, lawyer or planner. We recommend doing so early — the planning controls in the report determine what's possible at the design stage.

What if my property is in a small council with no online tool?

Many smaller QLD councils only publish PDF zone maps. You can: (a) download the zone maps from the council planning scheme page; (b) call the council planning department and request the zone confirmation in writing; (c) order our QLD Title Search ($34+) which gives you the title plus an AI-generated planning context summary that uses state-level data (DAMS, SPP IMS) to fill the council gap.

How does this differ from the upcoming Property Snapshot product?

Our forthcoming Property Snapshot ($9.90) aggregates state-level data (DAMS, SPP IMS, cadastre) + council data (where open data is available, e.g. Brisbane) into a single 30-second branded report — saves you from juggling 3-4 different government systems. The free Council Finder gets you to the council's own report; the paid Property Snapshot replaces it with our consolidated version.

Free — ready when you are

See the full product page for sign-up, bulk pricing and additional options.

Use the free Council Finder All QLD Products