Have your say on proposed development

A development application must be publicly notified if:

• any part of the application requires impact assessment
• the application is for a preliminary approval to vary the effect of a local planning instrument (including variation requests).

Submissions must include certain information and be made in a particular way to be considered 'properly made'.

Your submission must:

• be in writing and signed by each person making the submission, or be made electronically at DAMailbox@redland.qld.gov.au
• be received during the notification period (shown on the public notice sign on the land, newspaper advertisement and notice sent to adjoining landowners)
• state the name and residential or business address of each person making the submission
• state the grounds of the submission (see below), and the facts and circumstances relied on to support the grounds
• state one postal or electronic address for notification purposes for each person making the submission
• include the development application number (this should be available on the public notice sign on the land, newspaper advertisement and notice sent to adjoining landowners)
• be addressed to the assessment manager (usually Council).

When stating the grounds of a submission, and the facts and circumstances you have relied on in making your submission, remember to focus on planning issues, such as:

• whether the proposed use is consistent with the zoning for the area, as outlined in the planning scheme
• whether the scale and design of the proposed development is compatible with surrounding development
• how the development addresses the street and interfaces with adjoining properties
• potential traffic and car parking issues
• hours of operation (for commercial activities)
• how the development may affect drainage in the area
• how the development aligns with any objectives of the planning scheme to protect and enhance the natural environment.

Your submission should also include any supporting evidence or documentation you feel is relevant to your grounds.

Yes. Under the Planning Act 2016, submissions are not confidential and are available to view on Council's website after the end of the notification period.

If you send a submission to Council, the entire document (including names, addresses, contact details, signatures and any supporting documents provided) will be published on Council's website through the Development.i system.

When you prepare your submission, keep in mind that it will be publicly available in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act 2016. If you want to find your submissions on Development.i, remember that regardless of when you make your submission, all submissions will only be made available online after the end of the notification period. This does not have any impact on the properly made status of your submission and is simply to help ensure complete and accurate records of submissions received by Council are published together.

If you have concerns about your submission or parts of the document being made public, you can write to the Group Manager, City Planning and Assessment and ask to have some, or all, of your submission removed from public view on Development.i.

Decisions about these requests are made on a case-by-case basis, after considering your specific concerns and our legal obligations under the Planning Act 2016 and Information Privacy Act 2009.

You can check the status of an application and view your submission and others on Development.i.

You can also:

• change your submissions during the notification period only
• withdraw your submission at any time before a decision on the application is made.

Any submission Council receives forms part of the common material for the development application, which must be considered as part of the assessment of the development application.

After making a decision, a decision notice is issued to the applicant. By law, this notice must show the number of properly made submissions, and the names and addresses of the principal submitters. This allows the applicant to serve the required notice on each submitter if the applicant decides to appeal against the decision.

At the end of the applicant's appeal period (i.e. 20 business days after the decision date) a copy of the decision notice is provided to:

• everyone who made a properly made submission
• the first person on the list of 'submitters' where a submission was lodged by more than one person.

If you lodge a properly made submission on an application, you have the right to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court about the decision made on that application.

The decision notice will contain details about your appeal rights and how to make an appeal to the court.

Any petitions received that include the grounds of the submission, and each person's name, address and signature, are treated the same way as individual submissions.

However, unlike individual submissions, only the principal submitter receives a copy of the decision notice (i.e. either the person identified as the principal submitter or, if no person is identified, the submitter whose name first appears on the submission).