Owner's consent for applications including Council owned land

Owner's consent is required from Brisbane City Council when Council owned land (or land held by Council in trust) is proposed to be the subject of or included in an application.

Owner's consent can be requested onlinefor the following types of applications that include Council owned land (or land held by Council in trust):

• Development application
• Change application
• Extension of a Currency Period Application
• Development Application Exemption
• Development Application Cancellation
• Code for accepted development for tidal works, or work completely or partly in a coastal management district application
• Heritage Exemption Certificate Application – local or State
• Applications for infrastructure on land e.g. water, sewer, electrical which do not trigger an easement requirement Note: if application triggers an easement requirement, please refer to Infrastructure Application information below.
• Geotechnical Investigations
• Riverine Protection Permit Application
• Clearing Plant Protection Permit Application
• Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) Application
• Dedication of an access restriction strip to road (that is not subject of a Development Application)
• Other applications for owner’s consent.

Owner's consent applications undergo an assessment process and are considered on a case-by-case basis. On completion of the assessment process, Council will advise whether owner's consent will be granted or whether Council owned land (or land held by Council in trust) is not permitted to be included in the application.

Applications under the Planning Act 2016

For applications under the Planning Act 2016 (the Act) to be properly processed, the owner of all land included in the application must consent to the application being made. The Act makes it mandatory to obtain owner’s consent to include the land in an application. In a development application context, owner's consent is required under the Act, in particular Chapter 3, Part 2, Division 2, Section 51.

The owner of land, premises or place as defined in the Act, includes Council owned freehold land as well as land held in trust by Council.

Owner's consent is not required when the land that is subject of an application:

• has the benefit of an easement and the development is not inconsistent with the terms of the easement
• is acquisition land and the application relates to the purpose for which the land is to be taken or acquired.

If owner's consent is granted to lodge an application under the Act, this consent does not constitute nor imply approval of the subject application, which is subject to normal development assessment requirements as set out under the Act.

Owner's consent is valid for 12 months from the issue date and the consent will automatically lapse if the application has not been lodged within that time.

Infrastructure (sewer/water/electricity/gas) 

If your application for owner's consent for an infrastructure application which triggers an easement requirement, an easement will be required by Council and/or the Queensland Government for infrastructure passing through Council or State owned land. Easements are required to allow for construction, maintenance, inspection, demolition, access and also control work in or near the infrastructure within the easement.

There are charges associated with the granting of easement applications on Council land. The easement application fee is $2120.55 per lot.

The easement land will be valued, and the applicant is responsible for the costs of the valuer's service and the considerations cost of the easement area. 

For information about easements on State owned land, visit the Queensland Government website.

Owner's consent - application process

On lodgement of your application with Council, Council will undertake stakeholder consultation to assess the suitability of Council owned and controlled land being included in the application.

The standard application timeframe for processing of the application is twenty working days from receipt of all required documentation. However, in some circumstances, processing of the application can take longer.

Land subject of a lease - landlord consent / owner's consent

If you have entered into a commercial lease arrangement with Council over the land in which you require owner’s consent under the Planning Act 2016, prior to lodging your request for owner’ consent please contact your leasing representative in Council’s Commercial Leasing team to discuss whether landlord consent is required under the lease. The response from your Council leasing representative must be provided with your request for owner’s consent.

If you have entered into a community lease arrangement with Council over the land in which you require owner’s consent under the Planning Act 2016, please contact your leasing representative in Council’s Connected Communities’ team to commence the process for landlord and owner’s consent.

Information required by Council 

Supporting information is required by Council as part of any application for owner's consent when Council owned land or, for some types of applications, land held in trust by Council is subject of or included in an application. The table below indicates general information required for each application type. 

Once your application for owner's consent is submitted, Council will advise if other information is required including site or vegetation management plans, detailed design documents, construction methodology or hydraulic reports.

Fees

The following fees apply for the 2024/25 financial year:

• Dedication of an access restriction strip as road (that is not subject of a Development Application) - $1843.05
• All other owner’s consent types listed at top of page - $1740.30.

Note – fee only applicable if Council supports the application.

How to apply

Submit your application online.

Once your application has been submitted, a Council officer will contact you.

If you have any questions about your application, email Council's Land Use Management team. 

Related information

Find out how to:

• apply for a Heritage exemption certificate to carry out work on a local heritage place or a state heritage place
• get a Urban Utilities property owner's consent form
• apply for a Riverine protection permit
• apply for a Clearing plant protection permit.