A development approval and a building approval are two separate permissions, granted under two different Acts by two different decision makers, and plenty of Sunshine Coast and Noosa projects need both. Business Queensland draws the line in one sentence: “Planning schemes set out whether development can occur in an area; building assessment provisions (BAPs) detail how to build.” The development approval is the whether — a council decision under the Planning Act 2016 and your local planning scheme, either the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 or Noosa Plan 2020. The building approval is the how — a compliance decision checking your drawings against the National Construction Code and the Queensland Development Code, made by either your council or a private building certifier. Business Queensland puts it plainly: “You can get a building approval from your local government or a building certifier.”
Why the two get confused: a building approval is also a “development approval”
Here is the wording that trips up nearly every owner. In Queensland a building approval is a type of development approval. Section 6 of the Building Act 1975 defines a building development application as “a development application for a development approval…for building work” where a private certifier is the assessment manager, or, where the local government is the assessment manager, to the extent the application is for building work that must be assessed against the building assessment provisions. Noosa Shire Council puts it the same way: “Most types of building work require a development approval. You can obtain a development approval and general information from a private building certifier.”
So when your certifier emails you a “development approval”, they mean the building permit, not the council planning decision. Building work is judged against what section 30 of the Building Act 1975 calls the building assessment provisions — a list that includes “the BCA”, “subject to section 33, the QDC”, and any relevant local law or local planning instrument. Land use, bulk, siting beyond the code, subdivision and vegetation clearing are judged by your council against the planning scheme. The useful test is not who handed you the paperwork, because a council can sit on either track. It is what the document was assessed against. A decision measured against zones, codes and overlays is a planning decision. A decision measured against the building assessment provisions is a building approval.
The two-track table
| Development approval (planning track) | Building approval (building track) | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Can this use, this bulk and this siting happen on this land? | Does this design comply with the construction rules? |
| Governing law | Planning Act 2016 and your local planning scheme | Building Act 1975 and Building Regulation 2021 |
| Who decides | Sunshine Coast Council or Noosa Shire Council | Business Queensland: “You can get a building approval from your local government or a building certifier”. Business Queensland also states “All building certifiers must be licensed with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)” |
| Assessed against | Zones, codes, overlays and tables of assessment in the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 or Noosa Plan 2020 | The building assessment provisions listed in Building Act 1975 s 30, including the BCA, the QDC, and any relevant local law or local planning instrument |
| Categories | Planning Act 2016 s 44: prohibited, “development for which a development application may not be made”; assessable, “development for which a development approval is required”; and accepted, “development for which a development approval is not required” | Needed for most domestic building work. Some work is accepted development under Schedule 1 of the Building Regulation 2021, or accepted development exempt from relevant provisions under Schedule 2 |
| Public notice | Development requiring impact assessment is publicly notified and attracts properly made submissions | None. Certification is a compliance check, not a consultation |
| Typical local triggers | Zone, land use, height, site cover, overlays, subdivision. Noosa Shire Council says Noosa Plan 2020 sets requirements for “new or changing land uses”, “subdivision of land”, “building works, landscaping, and vegetation clearing” and “engineering works and infrastructure delivery” | Structure, fire separation, waterproofing, energy efficiency, termite management, glazing, smoke alarms, pool barriers |
| What you receive | A council decision notice with conditions that run with the land | A building development approval plus stamped, approved drawings |
| What follows on site | Conditions satisfied, often before works start or before occupation | Mandatory inspections. Building Regulation 2021 s 44 prescribes the stages for a single detached class 1a building: after excavation and before the footing or slab concrete is poured, at footing and slab formwork and reinforcement, at the frame bracing stages, and “at the completion of all aspects of the work” |
| How long it stays alive | Planning Act 2016 s 85(1): where no period is stated, a material change of use part lapses if the first change of use does not happen within 6 years; a reconfiguring a lot part if the plan of subdivision is not given to the local government within 4 years; any other part if the development does not substantially start within 2 years | The same s 85(1) currency period applies, because a building development approval is a development approval — in practice the 2 year “substantially start” limb. Where a condition requires completion by a set time, Building Act 1975 s 95 adds that the approval “only lapses if” the assessment manager has first given a reminder notice, given “no more than 6 months, but at least 3 months, before the lapsing time”, and “only 1 reminder notice may be given” |
| Order | Usually first | Usually second. Noosa Shire Council: private building certifiers are “not authorised to approve any building work that is contrary to the local planning scheme or the Queensland Development Code” |
Which track comes first, and why the order matters
Planning first, building second. That is a constraint, not a preference. Noosa Shire Council states that private building certifiers are “not authorised to approve any building work that is contrary to the local planning scheme or the Queensland Development Code”, so if the design breaches a setback, a height limit or an overlay provision, the certification file sits idle until the council question is answered.
The Planning Act 2016 sets a useful default at section 44(6)(a): “if no categorising instrument categorises particular development—the development is accepted development”. If the scheme is silent on your proposal, you are on the building track only. That is why a compliant dwelling in a residential zone often never touches a council planning assessment, while the same house on a lot mapped for flood, bushfire, coastal hazard or vegetation goes through a full development application first — and why two similar-looking jobs run to very different programmes. See how long it takes to build a house in Queensland.
Getting it wrong is not trivial. Planning Act 2016 s 163(1) says “a person must not carry out assessable development, unless all necessary development permits are in effect for the development”. The maximum penalty is 4,500 penalty units, or 17,000 penalty units “if the assessable development is on a Queensland heritage place or local heritage place”.
A Sunshine Coast worked example: the humble shed
Sunshine Coast Council’s shed guidance shows both tracks running on one small structure. On the building track, a shed needs no building approval only if it “does not exceed 10m2 in area”, “does not have any side longer than 5.0 m” and “does not exceed 2.4m in height, and does not have a mean height exceeding 2.1m”. Miss any one of those and the shed goes to a building certifier.
On the planning track, that same shed must comply with the Dwelling House Code in the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 — the scheme the council describes as regulating “the way land, buildings and structures are used and developed on the Sunshine Coast”. In residential zones the council says a shed must “not exceed a height of 3.6 metres” and “have a total floor area that does not exceed 56m²”, and must sit “at least 6 metres from any road frontage property boundary”, with side and rear boundaries following Queensland Development Code MP 1.1 or MP 1.2. Council also flags that building approval is required for “excavation and/or fill exceeding a depth of: one metre, or 200mm within 1.5m of a boundary”, and advises checking a Development.i Site Report for overlays.
So a 40m² shed can need a building approval and no planning approval, or both, depending on where the boundaries and overlays fall. Being exempt from a building approval never exempts you from the planning scheme. The same logic scales to a whole house on a difficult site: see building on a sloping block in Queensland.
What a building certifier can and cannot sign off
The QBCC is specific. Certifiers “carry out building assessment work relating to new, altered and existing building work”, “give a Compliance Certificate stating building work complies with the building assessment provisions”, and inspect the work to decide whether to certify it. Equally specific is what they do not do: a certifier does not “design the building or structure or carry out any of the building work”, is not responsible for “quality control and material finishes (e.g., quality of paintwork or finishes on a project, wrong coloured timber treads)”, does not “supervise the job site”, and does not “ensure a builder is complying with their contract”.
That defines the gap your builder fills. Certification is a compliance check, not a quality check. Workmanship, finish, sequencing and supervision are the builder’s responsibility, carried on a QBCC licence — required for building work “valued over $3,300”, and “valued over $1,100 where it involves Hydraulic Services Design”. Before you sign anything, check the QBCC licence.
When you need a variation: the third door
Most siting arguments on the Coast are Queensland Development Code arguments. Business Queensland describes the QDC as bringing “Queensland-specific building codes, including the Queensland Housing Code (QHC), into a single document”, and sets the split this way: MP 1.1 covers “design and siting standards for single detached housing on lots under 450m2”, and MP 1.2 covers lots “450m2 and over”. Sit outside those standards — a wall closer to a boundary, extra site cover, a taller element — and the certifier cannot wave it through. Noosa Shire Council spells out the fix: “A building application that requires a variation to the requirements of the Queensland Development Code or the local planning scheme must be submitted to Council prior to the building certifier granting approval.” Noosa also points owners to a Town Planning Appraisal Application where compliance is uncertain. Budget for this as a design decision, not a paperwork afterthought.
Where the two tracks rejoin
At the end, planning conditions must be satisfied and the building work certified. Business Queensland notes that “under the Building Act, any building that was built after 1 April 1976 should have a certificate of occupancy (formerly known as a certificate of classification) with its building approval”, but “this doesn’t apply to a single detached house (class 1a), carport or garage (class 10)”. A house instead finishes at the last prescribed inspection stage, which Building Regulation 2021 s 44 describes as “the completion of all aspects of the work”. Keep your copies: Building Act 1975 s 150 requires a private certifier to “keep all inspection documentation for building work for which the certifier is engaged for at least 7 years after the building work is completed”.
How we sequence approvals at Roebuck Concepts
Tom Roebuck has spent more than 20 years in residential construction, and the approvals sequence is the first thing we map on any job from our Coolum Beach office. We work backwards from the site: zone and overlays first, then the QDC siting envelope, then the design. On projects with K Architecture and Reitsma & Associates, that means planning risk surfaces while the drawings are still cheap to change, not after a certifier flags a setback breach. Our Grandview Drive project at Coolum Beach won three Master Builders Queensland 2025 Sunshine Coast Housing & Construction Awards, including Home Renovation/Remodelling Project over $1 million. See how we stage it in our build process, and for lodgement detail read building approvals on the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a development approval for a house on the Sunshine Coast?
Not always. Under Planning Act 2016 s 44(6)(a), “if no categorising instrument categorises particular development—the development is accepted development”, so a compliant dwelling in a residential zone with no overlays may need only a building approval. Overlays, a non-standard use, extra height or reduced setbacks push it into an assessable category under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 or Noosa Plan 2020.
Can my building certifier get the planning approval too?
No. Noosa Shire Council states private building certifiers are “not authorised to approve any building work that is contrary to the local planning scheme or the Queensland Development Code”, and that a building application needing a variation to the QDC or the local planning scheme “must be submitted to Council prior to the building certifier granting approval”.
Is a building permit the same as a building approval?
Yes. Business Queensland uses the terms interchangeably: “A building development approval (or building permit) is needed before construction can start on most types of domestic building work.”
How long does a development approval last?
Planning Act 2016 s 85(1) sets the currency period. Where no period is stated in the approval, a material change of use part lapses if the first change of use does not happen within 6 years, a reconfiguring a lot part if the plan of subdivision is not given to the local government within 4 years, and any other part if the development does not substantially start within 2 years. Section 86 lets a person apply to extend a currency period “before the approval lapses”.
Do renovations need both approvals?
Usually just the building approval, unless the work changes the use, adds a dwelling, breaches QDC siting or triggers an overlay. Structural alterations, new wet areas and extensions almost always need a building approval, and the QBCC requires a licence for building work “valued over $3,300”. See renovate or knock down and rebuild.