Code vs impact assessment in Queensland: what's the difference?

Under Queensland’s Planning Act 2016, development is either accepted (no development approval needed), assessable or prohibited, and assessable development is either code assessed or impact assessed. A categorising instrument, usually the council’s planning scheme, sets which applies. Only impact assessment and variation requests trigger public notification, and a code assessable application not decided in time can become a deemed approval.

The category your proposal falls into shapes almost everything that follows: whether you need to lodge at all, whether neighbours are notified, how the decision is made and who can appeal. This guide sets out each piece using the text of the Planning Act 2016 (Qld) and Brisbane City Council’s published process.

What are the three categories of development?

Section 44 of the Planning Act sets out three categories:

• Accepted development. Development “for which a development approval is not required”. There is no application to lodge.
• Assessable development. Development that needs a development approval, so you lodge a development application.
• Prohibited development. The third category, for development a categorising instrument categorises as prohibited.

One rule is easy to miss: under section 44(6)(a), development that no categorising instrument categorises is accepted development.

Who decides which category applies?

A categorising instrument decides. Section 43 defines it as a regulation or local categorising instrument that, among other things, categorises development as prohibited, assessable or accepted. For most local development, the local categorising instrument is the council’s planning scheme, so the scheme is the first place to check.

Section 46 adds an exception: a development approval is not required for assessable development on premises where an exemption certificate exists.

What is code assessment?

Section 45 says there are two categories of assessment for assessable development: code assessment and impact assessment.

Code assessment is carried out against the assessment benchmarks in a categorising instrument. The decision rules in section 60(2) are tightly bound to those benchmarks. The assessment manager:

• must approve the application to the extent the development complies with all assessment benchmarks;
• may approve it even if it does not comply with some benchmarks; and
• may refuse it only if compliance cannot be achieved by imposing conditions.

Put simply, to the extent a code assessable proposal complies with the benchmarks, it must be approved, and a refusal is open only where conditions cannot bring it into compliance.

What is impact assessment?

Impact assessment is also carried out against the assessment benchmarks in a categorising instrument, but section 45 lets the assessment manager consider other relevant matters as well. It may not take into account a person’s personal or financial circumstances.

Under section 60(3), the assessment manager must decide to:

• approve all or part of the application;
• approve all or part of it with conditions; or
• refuse it.

The wider discretion is the key difference. Code assessment asks whether the proposal meets the rules. Impact assessment asks that question and can weigh other relevant matters too.

Does public notification apply to each category?

Category	Public notification?
Accepted development	No. No approval is needed, so there is no application (s 44).
Code assessment	Not on its own. Section 53 is triggered only by impact assessment or a variation request.
Impact assessment	Yes. The applicant must give public notice if any part of the application needs impact assessment (s 53(1)(a)).

A code assessable application that includes a variation request is notified, because section 53 also covers variation requests.

How long is the notification period?

The method and timing of notification are set by the Development Assessment Rules, under sections 53(2) and 68 of the Act. Brisbane City Council’s Development assessment process page summarises the minimum periods:

• 15 business days for most applications;
• 30 business days for a variation request;
• business days from 20 December to 5 January are excluded.

Can submitters appeal?

This is where the category matters most to neighbours.

• Properly made submissions. To have submitter appeal rights under Schedule 1 of the Act, a submitter’s submission must be a properly made submission.
• Eligible submitters. Schedule 1 names an “eligible submitter” as a possible co-respondent in appeals about development applications.
• Brisbane’s summary. Council says submitters may appeal only certain impact assessable decisions or variation approvals, and cannot appeal decisions on code assessable applications.

Applicants have broader rights. Under Schedule 1, table 1, applicants may appeal refusals, deemed refusals, conditions and preliminary approval decisions.

If you want to make a submission on a notified application, our guide on how to object to a development application covers the process.

When is a code assessable application deemed approved?

Section 64 of the Act is a safeguard for applicants. It applies when:

• the application requires only code assessment; and
• the assessment manager does not decide it within the period, or extended period, allowed under the Development Assessment Rules.

The applicant may then give a deemed approval notice. On the day the assessment manager receives it, the assessment manager is taken to have approved the application (s 64(3) and (5)). Within 10 business days after receiving the notice, the assessment manager may give a decision notice approving the application, with or without conditions (s 64(6)).

Section 64(2) excludes some applications, including those with:

• a variation request;
• certain referral agency directions;
• building assessment provisions as an assessment benchmark; or
• a direction under section 95(1)(b).

The decision period itself is set in the Development Assessment Rules, not in the Act. Check the current Rules on the Queensland Government planning website before relying on a deemed approval.

What does this mean for my project?

1. Check your council’s planning scheme to see how your proposal is categorised.
2. If it is accepted development, no development approval is needed.
3. If it is code assessable, expect a decision against the benchmarks, no notification unless there is a variation request, and limited submitter appeal rights.
4. If it is impact assessable, plan for public notification, possible submissions and possible submitter appeals.

When you are ready to apply in Brisbane, our step by step guide on how to lodge a development application in Brisbane covers forms, fees and timing. To see how applications are moving through council, browse recent DAs on our suburb pages, the Queensland market page and the Queensland major projects tracker.

Primary sources

• Planning Act 2016 (Qld), in force as at 3 September 2026
• Brisbane City Council: Development assessment process

General information only, not legal or financial advice. Check the primary sources above or get professional advice for your situation.