Making & lodging a Development Application

There are a number of ways to gain advice about planning and development in Cairns:

• online tools and information via CairnsPlan 2016 Property Reporting tool and Factsheets.
• request for pre-lodgement advice (read more below)
• obtain a copy of previous development applications and approvals via DA Online
• request for written information

Applicants are encouraged to get in touch with Council’s Planning Approvals branch for initial and pre-lodgement advice. We also recommend you engage a private town planner, surveyor or building certifier to help you prepare a well-made application.

Council offers a free pre-lodgement advice service where you can present your development proposal to Council technical officers for preliminary comment. The service is not a formal part of the development assessment process but it helps identify potential issues before you lodge an application and contributes to a development application being well made.

Pre-lodgement advice will be given on issues detailed by the enquirer. Council officers may raise other issues but you should not rely on the pre-lodgement process to identify areas of non-compliance.

Depending on the complexity of issues involved, pre-lodgement advice may be given as a written response or a pre-lodgement meeting.

It is an informal discussion and advice only; it is not a detailed assessment and does not pre-empt or determine the likely outcome of an assessment process.  Pre-lodgement advice is given in good faith and in no way binds a decision made by Council following an assessment process, including consideration of any public submissions.

To use this service, you should:

• submit a Pre-lodgement Enquiry Form ( PDF, 0.15 MB ) ( PDF, 0.19 MB ) ; and
• submit a Concept Plan drawn to scale and detailing the proposal including access, parking, open space, building height and setbacks from boundaries etc

Under the Planning Act 2016, a development application must be a "Properly Made Development Application".

A Properly Made application must be supported by the following:

• the correct application form/s
• written consent of owner of the premises (if the applicant is not the owner)
• supporting information where specified on the application form/s (eg planning reports, technical plans or assessments, site and floor plans etc)
• the appropriate fee as set by Council

If you lodge an incomplete application, Council will contact you to discuss the missing information and the next steps. You may be asked to submit amended plans, additional reports and additional fees. If your application still does not meet the criteria, it will not be considered Properly Made and it cannot proceed through the development assessment process to a decision.

After you lodge your Properly Made application, Council may refer it to other relevant Council officers including engineers, strategic planners, and sport and recreation planners.

For impact assessable applications, Council will send an Acknowledgement Notice within ten (10) days of lodgement.  For code assessable applications, we will send an Acknowledgement Notice only if there are external referral agencies.

Complete DA Forms and ensure all mandatory requirements of the forms have been met.

Lodge your application via the methods listed below (online lodgement via Development Applications Online is preferred).

Council or any external referral (concurrence) agency may ask you for more information about the application. This is not compulsory and will only occur if helpful. The system encourages open communication between all parties prior to this formal part being used.

Some types of development applications will require additional assessment by referral agencies. If referral is required, this part becomes relevant to the development application.

• Read more on our Referral Agency Assessment webpage.

Under the Planning Act 2016, a development application must be a "Properly Made Development Application".

If your application is not considered Properly Made, the Development Assessment Rules Section 3.1 states that the assessment manager must issue an Action Notice.  This will state:

• why it is not a properly made application, and
• what actions are needed to meet the properly made requirement.

You have 20 business days, or any further period agreed to by Council, to comply with an Action Notice.  You must notify Council once the required actions have been completed.

Council will then consider whether the action notice has been complied with and issue a Confirmation Notice if satisfied that the application is properly made.

If you do not respond to an Action Notice, your application is taken to have not been made.

All development applications lodged after 2010 for development assessable against the Cairns planning scheme are available on Development Applications Online.

Once the application is assigned to a Planning Officer, an update regarding the progress of the application can be provided.