Demolition is building work in Queensland, so a knockdown rebuild needs a building development approval for the demolition itself, separate from the approval for your new house. Sunshine Coast Council lists demolition of a building or structure, including part demolition as work requiring a development building work permit, and section 5 of the Building Act 1975 defines building work to include demolishing a building or other structure. Past that permit, three things decide how hard the job gets: whether your lot sits in a mapped heritage or character area, how much asbestos is in the old house, and how long the services take to disconnect.
Do you need council approval to demolish a house in Queensland?
Yes, and a private building certifier can issue it. Sunshine Coast Council’s position is that a private building certifier can advise whether you need a development building work permit, and the council puts removal or relocation of an existing building, including re-siting a building on the same allotment, in the same list as demolition.
The approval carries a clock. Section 71 of the Building Act 1975, headed “When demolition, removal and rebuilding must start and be completed”, requires the building work to substantially start within 2 months after the approval is given and to be completed within 1 year after it is given — what the Act calls the demolition/removal completion condition. You may apply to the local government for one extension of up to 6 months, and section 71 requires that application to be made in writing before the end of the original period, with the local government deciding it within 10 business days. So do not pull a demolition approval a year ahead of the build.
A building approval is not a planning approval. If an overlay affects your lot you may need a development approval from Sunshine Coast Council or Noosa Shire Council first, on its own timeline. Our guide to building approvals on the Sunshine Coast and in Noosa covers both tracks.
The pre-1946 character trigger, and what actually applies here
There is no state-wide pre-1946 demolition rule in Queensland. Date-based character housing controls come from individual council planning schemes, and the character provisions of the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 do not turn on a construction date. They turn on mapping.
Schedule 1 of the scheme defines a character area as “an area identified as a character area as shown on a Heritage and Character Areas Overlay Map”, and a character building as “a building or structure within a character area that exemplifies the identified and predominant character of the area and which is shown on a Heritage and Character Areas Overlay Map”. The test is not the year your house was built. It is whether the overlay map picks up your lot and your building.
Where it does, Table 5.10.1 in Part 5 of the scheme makes building work that is within a mapped character area and involves the complete or partial demolition, relocation or removal of a character building impact assessable, with the whole planning scheme as the assessment benchmark. The same table treats building work involving the complete or partial demolition, relocation or removal of elements that contribute to the significance of a local heritage place as impact assessable. Impact assessment is what brings the public in: under section 53 of the Planning Act 2016 an applicant must publicly notify a development application if any part of it requires impact assessment, any person other than the applicant or a referral agency may make a submission, and a properly made submission carries appeal rights under schedule 1 of that Act.
Performance outcome PO7 of the 8.2.9 Heritage and character areas overlay code says character buildings or structures are not wholly or partially demolished or removed unless the building or structure is not capable of structural repair, repair is not feasible having regard to economic, safety and health considerations, or the building or structure does not contribute to the historical, architectural or streetscape character of the area. Against PO7 the scheme records “no acceptable outcome provided”, so it is a merits argument backed by a structural engineer, not a box you tick.
Schedule 1 also notes that State heritage places are shown on the Heritage and Character Areas Overlay Maps for information purposes only, and that development involving a State heritage place is subject to the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 — so search the State heritage register separately. In Noosa Shire, the mapping to check is The Noosa Plan 2020.
Asbestos obligations before the machine arrives
Section 453 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 puts a direct duty on the business demolishing domestic premises: all asbestos likely to be disturbed by the demolition must be identified, and so far as is reasonably practicable removed, before the demolition commences. Maximum penalty, 60 penalty units. That duty sits with your demolition contractor, but you wear the delay if it surfaces late.
Who may remove it depends on type and quantity. Section 458 requires the business that commissions the removal to use a licensed asbestos removalist, unless the material is 10m² or less of non-friable asbestos, in which case the work must be done by a competent person trained under section 445. Above that line the licence classes take over: section 487 requires a class B (or class A) licence for removing more than 10m² of non-friable asbestos, and section 485 requires a class A licence for friable asbestos. Under section 503 an asbestos removal licence expires 5 years after it is granted, which Business Queensland states the same way.
Section 466 then requires the licensed removalist to give the regulator written notice at least 5 days before commencing licensed asbestos removal work, so book the inspection before you lock a demolition date rather than after.
Disposal is a separate chain. Business Queensland states plainly that holding class A and class B asbestos removal licences does not permit you to transport asbestos and that you must obtain separate approval from the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, which also licenses the businesses that transport asbestos waste and the landfills that accept it. Waste tracking applies even where a load only contains residues of that waste.
Service disconnections
Disconnections are the part of a knockdown you cannot compress, because none of it is your demolisher’s work to do. The assets belong to the network owners, the work is licensed work, and the booking sits in the utility’s queue. Order them the day the approval issues.
Electricity is the hard stop: section 55 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 provides that a person must not perform or supervise electrical work unless they hold an electrical work licence in force that authorises the work, with a maximum penalty of 400 penalty units. Water and sewer sit in the same place, because Sunshine Coast Council requires all regulated plumbing and drainage work to be completed by a licensed plumber or drainer — the cap-off at the boundary is licensed work you book, not something a machine operator improvises on the day.
Section 142 of the WHS Regulation adds one more notice. A business proposing to demolish a structure, or a part of a structure that is load-bearing or otherwise related to the structure’s physical integrity, that is at least 6m in height must give the regulator written notice at least 5 days before the work commences. The same 5 day notice applies to demolition work involving load-shifting machinery on a suspended floor, and to demolition work involving explosives. Measure the height rather than assume it: section 142(5) measures from the lowest level of the ground immediately adjacent to the base of the structure, at the point being measured, to its highest point, which on a sloping block at Yaroomba or Marcus Beach can sit well below your front door.
Demolition triggers, asbestos duties and disconnections at a glance
| Trigger or obligation | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Building approval for demolition | Demolition of a building or structure, including part demolition, requires a development building work permit; removal or relocation of an existing building is listed the same way | Sunshine Coast Council |
| Approval clock | Substantially start within 2 months of the approval being given and complete within 1 year; one extension of up to 6 months, applied for in writing before that period ends | Building Act 1975 s 71 |
| Pre-1946 date test | No construction-date test in the scheme’s character provisions. A character building is one inside a mapped character area that exemplifies its identified and predominant character and is shown on a Heritage and Character Areas Overlay Map | Planning Scheme 2014, Schedule 1 |
| Character building demolition | Building work within a mapped character area involving the complete or partial demolition, relocation or removal of a character building is impact assessable against the planning scheme | Planning Scheme 2014, Table 5.10.1 |
| Local heritage place | Building work involving the complete or partial demolition, relocation or removal of elements that contribute to the significance of a local heritage place is impact assessable | Planning Scheme 2014, Table 5.10.1 |
| What impact assessment brings | The application must be publicly notified, any person other than the applicant or a referral agency may make a submission, and a properly made submission carries appeal rights | Planning Act 2016 s 53 and sch 1 |
| Test for demolishing a character building | Not demolished or removed unless not capable of structural repair, repair is not feasible on economic, safety and health grounds, or it does not contribute to the historical, architectural or streetscape character of the area. No acceptable outcome provided | Planning Scheme 2014, 8.2.9 PO7 and AO7 |
| Asbestos identification | Identify all asbestos likely to be disturbed and, so far as reasonably practicable, remove it before demolition of domestic premises commences. Maximum 60 penalty units | WHS Regulation 2011 s 453 |
| Unlicensed removal limit | A licensed removalist is required unless the material is 10m² or less of non-friable asbestos, which a competent person trained under s 445 may remove | WHS Regulation 2011 s 458 |
| Class B licence | A class B (or class A) licence is required to remove more than 10m² of non-friable asbestos or ACM | WHS Regulation 2011 s 487 |
| Class A licence | A class A licence is required to remove friable asbestos | WHS Regulation 2011 s 485 |
| Asbestos licence term | An asbestos removal licence expires 5 years after the day it is granted | WHS Regulation 2011 s 503; Business Queensland |
| Asbestos removal notice | The licensed removalist must give the regulator written notice at least 5 days before commencing licensed asbestos removal work | WHS Regulation 2011 s 466 |
| Asbestos transport and disposal | A removal licence does not permit transport; separate departmental approval is required, the department licenses transporters and receiving landfills, and waste tracking applies even where a load only contains residues | Business Queensland |
| Notice of demolition work | Written notice to the regulator at least 5 days before work commences, for a structure or load-bearing part at least 6m high, for load-shifting machinery on a suspended floor, or where explosives are involved | WHS Regulation 2011 s 142 |
| Demolition licence | Demolition work at a workplace must be carried out by, or on behalf of, the holder of a licence to carry out demolition work | WHS Regulation 2011 s 143 |
| Demolition licence term | A licence to carry out demolition work expires 2 years after the day it is granted | WHS Regulation 2011 s 144K; Business Queensland |
| Electricity disconnection | Only the holder of an electrical work licence authorising the work may perform or supervise electrical work. Maximum 400 penalty units | Electrical Safety Act 2002 s 55 |
| Water and sewer | All regulated plumbing and drainage work must be completed by a licensed plumber or drainer | Sunshine Coast Council |
| Builder’s licence | A QBCC licence is required for building work valued over $3,300; demolition workers and asbestos removal workers are directed to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland instead | QBCC |
Who holds which licence
Demolition licensing is not a QBCC matter, and that trips people up. QBCC’s list of people who do not need a QBCC licence includes a demolition worker and an asbestos removal worker, and directs both to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Your builder is the QBCC side: QBCC states a licence is required for building work valued over $3,300. Roebuck Concepts holds QBCC licence 15280811 — check any number using how to check a QBCC licence, and ask your demolisher for their demolition work licence and the removalist’s licence class before either of them starts.
If demolition is not settled yet, work through renovate or knock down and rebuild first, because a character overlay or a heavy asbestos load can change that answer. When you want it all under one contract, that is our knockdown rebuild service on the Sunshine Coast.
Frequently asked questions
Does a pre-1946 house automatically need extra approval on the Sunshine Coast?
No. The Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 defines a character area and a character building by reference to the Heritage and Character Areas Overlay Map, not by construction date. Check the overlay mapping for your lot before you assume either way.
Can I demolish a house myself?
Not in the way most people mean. The demolition still needs a building development approval, and section 143 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 provides that a person must not carry out demolition work at a workplace unless the person, or the person on whose behalf the work is carried out, holds a licence to carry out demolition work, with a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units. Engage anyone to swing the machine and the site is a workplace. Demolition work is defined as work to demolish or dismantle a structure, or a part of a structure that is load-bearing or otherwise related to its physical integrity, and the asbestos duty in section 453 falls on the business carrying out the demolition.
How long does a demolition approval last?
Under section 71 of the Building Act 1975 the work must substantially start within 2 months and be completed within 1 year of the approval being given, with one extension of up to 6 months available from the local government if you apply before that period ends.
How much asbestos can be removed without a licence?
Section 458 of the WHS Regulation allows 10m² or less of non-friable asbestos to be removed by a competent person trained under section 445. Section 487 requires a class B or class A licence for more than 10m² of non-friable asbestos, and section 485 requires a class A licence for any friable asbestos.
Who disconnects the power, water and sewer?
Licensed trades, working to the network owners’ process. Section 55 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 restricts electrical work to the holder of an electrical work licence authorising it, and Sunshine Coast Council requires all regulated plumbing and drainage work to be completed by a licensed plumber or drainer. Book both as soon as the approval issues, because the demolition date follows the disconnections, not the other way around.