Referral requests
Check if you need to lodge a request for a referral agency response. Follow our step-by-step process to lodge your request.
What is a referral request?
A referral request occurs when a private building certifier needs advice from Council about proposed building works.
A building certifier is the assessment manager for building work applications. Council acts as a referral agency providing advice for the application.
Referral requests ensure the proposed works meet Queensland Development Code (QDC) standards.
When do I need a referral request?
You need a referral request if your proposed building works don’t meet the QDC standards or alternative provisions detailed in section 1.6 of Brisbane City Plan 2014 (City Plan).
The building certifier handling your request will assess your proposal against the relevant performance criteria. They will issue a confirmation notice. You must submit this with your referral agency request within 10 days.
Note: A property owner seeking an early referral agency response under section 57 of the Planning Act 2017 does not need to be issued a confirmation notice before requesting the referral.
Contact a licensed building certifier to organise building assessment and approval. You may also be advised to lodge a development application to be assessed with your request.
Find more information about when referrals are needed in:
- Part 1 of Brisbane City Plan 2014 (City Plan)
- the technical guidelines for building work referrals for dwelling houses.
Download the guidelines.
Types of requests
Understand which type of request for a referral agency response applies to you.
Your proposal may be eligible if it does not involve:
- a corner lot
- small lot
- heritage place
- easement area
- designated waterway corridor
- protected vegetation
- aspects protected by a covenant
- area described by a building location plan.
This service is available for:
- variations to road setbacks
- side/rear setbacks
- site cover for certain types of building work where they comply with specific criteria.
You can check if your proposal is eligible for an express assessment using the online form. If you want to use the express assessment service, you must submit the summary of this form.
A standard assessment is available for:
- any type of building work in relation to siting variations
- proposals that are not eligible as an express assessment.
Council may identify where an assessment against City Plan is also triggered. If required, you’ll be advised to lodge a development application to be assessed with your request.
An amended assessment is available if you’ve already received a referral agency response and want to have it revised.
This may be required as a result of minor changes to the proposal or proposed plans. An amended assessment can only be requested within 24 months of receiving the advice from Council.
You won’t be able to use this service if we provided advice more than 24 months ago or as an early referral response under section 57 of the Planning Regulation 2017. In these cases, you’ll need to request a referral agency response using one of the other assessment options.
Application process
You must consult with your neighbours for both standard and amended assessments. This ensures your neighbours are aware of any variations sought against the QDC or the potential impact of the building works.
If you’re requesting a referral agency response for a standard assessment, you must consult with adjoining property owners at least 5 days before lodging your request.
As part of your consultation, you must provide your neighbours with:
- information guidelines on how neighbours can make a comment
- an outline of the proposed works
- a copy of the proposed plans.
Make a note of the date you consulted with your neighbours and the details you provided. You will need to lodge this information with your referral agency request.
When lodging your request, you must provide:
- dimensioned site plan (1:200 scale) indicating north point with required setback
- dimensioned floor plans (1:100 scale)
- dimensioned elevations (1:100 scale) including overall heights above natural ground level
- all plans to show contours and ground levels
- indication of all building and structures on the property
- clear identification of the proposal
- site photos
- information that shows how the proposal meets the relevant assessment criteria outlined in the lodgement form
- confirmation from the express assessment eligibility validation online form that your proposal meets the eligibility criteria (for express assessments)
- the date you consulted with your neighbours and what information was provided to them (if neighbour consultation was carried out)
- a confirmation notice from the assessment manager (private building certifier). Your assessment manager can use our pre-prepared template.
Learn more about the fees that apply for lodging a request for a referral agency response.
Pay the relevant fee when you submit your application
Complete the online form to request a referral agency response.
After you apply
You can check the status of your referral request on our development and search tracking tool, Development.i.
Look up your referral request by number or location and select 'Details'. The status is under 'Progress'.
Assessment timeframes
If you’ve submitted a request for an express assessment, you’ll receive a response from Council within 5 business days from payment.
If you’ve submitted a request for a standard assessment, you’ll receive a response from Council within 10 business days of your request being properly referred.
You may also be advised to lodge a development application to be assessed in conjunction with your request.