A Queensland assessment manager may approve all or part of an application, approve it with development conditions, or refuse it, and any part it does not approve is taken to be refused. An appeal goes to a Development Tribunal or the Planning and Environment Court, depending on what it is about, and schedule 1 of the Act says who may bring it; for most appeals the time limit is 20 business days after the decision notice is given.
General informationThis page follows the Planning Act 2016, the state’s dispute resolution page and the Queensland Courts page on the Planning and Environment Court, as at October 2026. It is not legal advice about any decision or appeal, and appeal periods are strict: the Act and the court’s registry are the authority on them.
What the decision notice can say
Besides approving or refusing, an assessment manager can grant all or part of an application as a preliminary approval only, even where the applicant sought a development permit. The decision notice states the decision, the day it was made, and any appeal rights, and it gives reasons where an application is refused in whole or in part.
Generally, an approval takes effect when it is given, or taken to have been given, to the applicant. If an appeal about it is started, it takes effect when the appeal ends, subject to the outcome.
How long an approval lasts
Every development approval has a currency period, the time allowed before the development must start, and an approval can lapse if development has not started within it. The state’s guide says these periods run from two to six years for different types of development. Where an approval states no period of its own, section 85 sets one.
| Part of the approval | It lapses if, within the period | Default period |
|---|---|---|
| Material change of use | the first change of use does not happen | 6 years after the approval starts to have effect |
| Reconfiguring a lot | the plan of reconfiguration the Land Title Act requires is not given to the local government | 4 years after the approval starts to have effect |
| Any other part | the development does not substantially start | 2 years after the approval starts to take effect |
An extension application, made to the assessment manager before the approval lapses, can extend a currency period.
Changing an approval
- During the applicant’s appeal period
- The applicant may make change representations, under sections 74 to 76. If the assessment manager agrees with any of the proposed changes, it gives a negotiated decision notice, and only one may be given.
- After the appeal periods end
- A person may make a change application to the responsible entity: usually the assessment manager, or the referral agency for a minor change to a condition that agency set. A minor change needs no public notification and follows a shorter process, in section 81.
Two places an appeal can go
Schedule 1 of the Act says which matters go to a tribunal, which to the court, and which to either, and who may appeal each one.
| Question | Development Tribunals | Planning and Environment Court |
|---|---|---|
| What it hears | Building, plumbing and certain planning decisions of local governments and private certifiers. | A specialised court within the District Court, hearing matters that include planning and development under the Planning Act 2016. |
| Who decides | A tribunal of 1 to 5 referees with relevant qualifications and experience, formed as needed from an appointed pool. | Judges. The court manages each case through directions hearings, and judges review cases regularly to prepare them for trial. |
| Lawyers | Parties may not have legal representation at hearings. | Not required: a party may appear in person, or be represented by a lawyer or by an agent who is not one. |
| Hearings | Informal, with every decision given in plain English. | In Brisbane, Southport, Maroochydore, Townsville and Cairns, and elsewhere if needed, near the land in dispute where it can. |
| Afterwards | A tribunal’s decision can be appealed to the Planning and Environment Court. | Costs are not automatically awarded against the losing party. |
Appeal periods
Section 229(3) of the Act sets the appeal period. The ones an applicant is most likely to meet:
- against a decision, and for any appeal not listed separately: 20 business days after the notice of the decision is given;
- against a deemed refusal: at any time after the deemed refusal happens;
- about a deemed approval with no decision notice: 30 business days after the applicant gives the deemed approval notice;
- against an infrastructure charges notice: 20 business days after the notice is given.
A note to the section points to the Planning and Environment Court Act for the court’s power to extend the appeal period.
Starting an appeal
An appeal starts with a notice of appeal lodged with the registrar of the tribunal or the court. It must be in the approved form, state the grounds briefly, and come with the required fee. Anyone filing a notice of appeal, or an originating application, with the court about a Planning Act matter must also give a copy to the department’s chief executive.
An originating application is different from an appeal: it asks the court for direction on a procedural or legal point, such as whether an application was properly made or the level of assessment applied to it. Queensland Courts says most cases are resolved before a final hearing, and the court encourages alternative dispute resolution, offering it free of charge.