The information contained herein is supplied courtesy of the Queensland Government, for more information simply log onto www.ipa.qld.gov.au

The Integrated Planning Act 1997, commonly referred to as IPA, forms the foundation of Queensland's planning and development assessment legislation.

IPA establishes a simple step-by-step process for making, assessing and deciding development applications in Queensland. This process is called the Integrated Development Assessment System, or IDAS.

Prior to the commencement of IPA and the introduction of IDAS there were approximately 60 different approval systems relating to development in Queensland. These approval systems all had their own separate processes for lodgement, assessment and decision making, even where they applied to the same proposal. IPA brings all these separate approval proceses together into one integrated package - IDAS. This section provides a brief introduction to IDAS and its key features.

Click on the link to download a complete copy of the Integrated Planning Act 1997. and scroll down until you find the Legislation titled Integrated Planning Act 1997.

The IDAS Process

The IDAS process incorporates four stages. However, the four (4) stages of IDAS may not apply to all development applications. Simple development applications may trigger only two (2) stages. More complex and environmentally sensitive proposals may trigger all four (4) stages.

1. Application Stage
2. Information and Referral Stage
3. Notification Stage
4. Decision Stage

Application Stage - Is the stage where the application is lodged with the assessment manager (ie. the Douglas Shire Council).

Information & Referral Stage - Is the stage where the application is reviewed. During this stage the assessment manager and some State Government Agencies may request further information and particulars about the proposal.

Notification Stage - Is the stage in which an Impact Assessable application is publicly advertised and comments on the proposal are invited from the community.

Decision Stage - Is the stage in which the assessment manager makes a decision on whether the application is to be approved and advises the applicant and any submitters of their decision.

For more information visit the Queensland Government Website www.ipa.qld.gov.au.

The key participants in IDAS

IDAS sets out the step-by-step responsiblities for the respective participants in the process.

The applicant - Is the person or company responsible for lodging the application. The applicant may be the land owner, the developer or a consultant engaged to act on behalf of the owner or developer.

The assessment manager - Is responsible for assessing and deciding the application and in this case is the Douglas Shire Council, however in some instances the assessment manager may be a State Government Agency.

The IDAS referral - Is usually a State Government agency. There are two (2) types of referral agencies: concurrence and advice. A concurrence agency may direct the outcome of an application while an advice agency may only provide advised to the Douglas Shire Council about the outcome of the application.

A submitter - Is a person, group or organisation who makes a submission about an Impact Assessable application to the Douglas Shire Council during the notification stage of IDAS. A properly made submission secures appeal rights for the submitter against the approval of the application.

For more information visit the Queensland Government Website www.ipa.qld.gov.au.

When is an application required?

For an application to be required, the proposal must involve development and be assessable under either the Douglas Shire Council's Planning Scheme or Schedule 8 of IPA or both. The following questions help in determining if a proposal is 'Assessable Development'.

Question 1. Does the proposal involve "development"?

The term 'Development' includes one or more of the following activities:- 

• Carrying out building work - eg constructing an office building or demolishing a house.
• Carrying out plumbing or drainage work - eg domestic plumbing and house drainage
• Carrying out operational work - eg laying out the roads and services in a new subdivision or clearing vegetation on freehold land.
• Reconfiguring a lot - eg subdividing land.
• Making a Material Change of Use of Premises - eg converting a residential property into a business premises.

Question 2. Is the development assessable?

IPA assumes development is not assessable (ie exempt development) unless it is declared to be self assessable or assessable through one or both of the following:-

• Schedule 8 of IPA - eg Environmentally Relevant Activities and clearing native vegetation on freehold land.
• The Douglas Shire Planning Scheme (refer to the table of zones)

For more information visit the Queensland Government Website www.ipa.qld.gov.au.

Types of Development

There are three (3) types of development under IPA.

Exempt development - Does not require development approval and there are no codes or standards applied to the development.

Self-assessable development - Does not require development approval but the proponent is responsible for ensuring that the proposal complies with any applicable standards' specified in the Planning Scheme, the SBR or other relevant legislation.

Assessable development - Requires teh lodgement of an application which is assessed and decided using IDAS.

Assessable development

There are two (2) types of assessable develompent in IPA.

Code assessment - The application is assessed for compliance with the applicable standards (eg the Building Code of Australia). Public notification is not required.

Impact assessment - Involves a broader assessment of the potential effects of the proposal. In this instance the application is assessed against the Douglas Shire Planning Scheme, an applicable State Planning Policy and any other laws or standards that can be reasonably applied to the development. Public notification is required and the application is subject to third party appeal rights.

For more information visit the Queensland Government Website www.ipa.qld.gov.au.

Deciding an Application

An application may be:-

• Approved;
• Approved subject to conditions; or
• Refused

If an application is refused, the decision notice must include the reasons for the refusal.

If an application is approved, the approval may be subject to conditions. Conditions must be complied with and may apply to various stages of the development including:

• Project planning
• Construction
• The on-going life of the development

Failure to comply with conditions of approval will result in the development being unlawful.

Types of Approval

There are two (2) types of approval under IPA.

Development permit - Must be obtained before works or the use can commence.

Preliminary approval - A preliminary approval need not be obtained prior to seeking a development permit. A preliminary approval is legally binding and may help in the staging of the development but does not allow works of the use to commence.

For more information visit the Queensland Government Website www.ipa.qld.gov.au.