How do I object to a development application?

You can object to a development application in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, but who can object, how, and what happens next differ by state. In Queensland you can make a properly made submission on impact assessable applications and later appeal an approval. In Victoria objectors can seek VCAT review. In NSW objector appeals are limited to designated development.

How do I find out about a development application near me?

Councils and state agencies give public notice of applications that require it, for example through signs on the land and letters to neighbours. You can also watch recent lodgements on our suburb pages, track big proposals on our major projects trackers for Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne, and follow market news for Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne.

When can I make a submission in Queensland?

Under the Planning Act 2016 (Qld), an applicant must publicly notify a development application if any part of it requires impact assessment, or if it includes a variation request (s 53(1)). Once it is notified, any person other than the applicant or a referral agency can make a submission to the assessment manager, which is usually the council (s 53(6)).

Code assessable applications are not publicly notified under s 53, so there is generally no right to make a formal submission on them. If you are not sure which kind of application you are looking at, our guide to code vs impact assessment in Queensland explains the difference, and our guide to lodging a DA in Brisbane covers the process from the applicant’s side.

How long is the Queensland submission period?

The public notice must state a last day for submissions. Under s 53(4) of the Planning Act:

• for an ordinary impact assessable application, that day must be at least 15 business days after the notice is given
• if the application includes a variation request, it must be at least 30 business days
• where notice has to be given in more than one way, for example a sign on the land and letters to neighbours, the period starts the day after the last notice is given (s 53(5))

Always go by the closing date printed on the notice.

What makes a Queensland submission “properly made”?

This matters, because only a properly made submission gives you appeal rights (note to s 53(6)). Schedule 2 of the Planning Act 2016 says a properly made submission must:

1. be signed by every person making it (for a hard copy), or given electronically in the way the notice states
2. be received during the submission period
3. state the name and residential or business address of every person making it
4. state the grounds of the submission and the facts and circumstances relied on
5. give one postal or electronic address for service
6. be made to the assessment manager

Stick to planning grounds and facts, and meet every requirement.

Can I appeal a Queensland approval, and by when?

Schedule 1 of the Planning Act lets an eligible submitter appeal a decision to approve a development application, but only to the extent the appeal relates to the part of the application that required impact assessment, or to a variation request. In that appeal the assessment manager is the respondent, the applicant is a co-respondent, and another eligible submitter can elect to become a co-respondent.

The general appeal period under s 229(3)(h) is 20 business days after notice of the decision. Read s 229 and your decision notice carefully to confirm when your period starts, and get advice early if you are considering an appeal.

Two other rules help submitters. Submissions stay effective if notice of the application is given again, and a properly made submission on an application that lapsed or was withdrawn carries over to a substantially similar new application made within 1 year (s 53(7) and (8)).

How are development applications exhibited in NSW?

A single statewide Community Participation Plan took effect on 1 September 2026, replacing more than 100 separate plans. According to NSW Planning, all existing council and NSW Government agency community participation plans no longer apply. Councils may keep an engagement strategy, but the statewide exhibition requirements still apply.

Minimum exhibition timeframes are kept (NSW Planning gives a 14 day minimum for residential flat buildings and shop top housing), and authorities can extend them. Some lower impact development types do not need public exhibition at all if they comply with height and floor space ratio controls. The full list of development types and periods is in the plan itself, so check the plan document linked from the NSW Planning page.

How do I make a submission on a NSW application?

For State significant development, the NSW Planning Portal Submissions Policy says submissions are lodged through the Major Projects Hub on the NSW Planning Portal before exhibition closes. You need to include:

• your full name and address
• the application name and number
• whether you support or object to the proposal
• your reasons

The department may consider material received late, but you should not rely on that.

For ordinary local DAs, councils set out how to lodge submissions in their own engagement strategies, so check your council’s website or the exhibition notice.

Can NSW objectors appeal to the Land and Environment Court?

Only in a narrow case. The Land and Environment Court says that for designated development, a person who made a submission objecting during the submission period, and who is dissatisfied with a decision to grant consent, can appeal under s 8.8 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The deadline is 28 days after notice of the determination was given (s 8.10(2)).

The Court’s page describes no other third-party merit appeal rights. Applicants, by contrast, generally have 6 months to appeal. For most NSW DAs, that means your submission during exhibition is your main chance to influence the outcome, so make it count.

Who can object to a planning permit application in Victoria?

Under s 57 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), any person who may be affected by the grant of a permit can object. Owners or occupiers of land that benefits from a registered restrictive covenant are treated as affected where the permit would breach or vary the covenant (s 57(1A)).

Your objection must:

• be in writing to the responsible authority (usually the council)
• state the reasons for the objection
• state how you would be affected by the grant of the permit

A group can lodge a single objection and nominate one person to receive notices (s 57(3) and (4)). The council can reject an objection made primarily to secure a commercial advantage for the objector, and it is then treated as never made (s 57(2A) and (2B)).

How is notice given in Victoria, and what happens to objections?

The council, or the applicant if the council requires it, must give notice of an application to adjoining owners and occupiers (unless the council is satisfied there would be no material detriment), to the municipal council if it is affected, to anyone the planning scheme names, and to others who may suffer material detriment (s 52(1)). Applications to remove or vary a restrictive covenant also need a sign on the land and a newspaper notice (s 52(1AA)).

The council cannot decide the application until 14 days have passed after the last notice was given and referral replies are in (s 59(2)). It must make a copy of every objection available until the end of the review period (s 57(5) and (6)).

Can Victorian objectors go to VCAT?

Yes, in most cases. If the council decides to grant a permit despite objections, it must give each objector a notice of decision (s 64(1)). An objector can then apply to VCAT for review of the decision to grant the permit (s 82(1)), although a planning scheme can exempt some classes of application from this right (s 82(2) and (3)). The council must not issue the permit until the objector review period ends or, if a review is lodged, until VCAT decides it or it is withdrawn (s 64(3)).

VCAT confirms you must have lodged a written objection with the council to apply as an objector. Check VCAT’s page and your notice of decision for the deadline that applies to you, and apply promptly.

What if I did not object in Victoria?

If you are affected and the council received a written objection, you can ask VCAT for leave to apply for review (s 82B(1)). VCAT may grant leave if it believes that would be just and fair (s 82B(4)), and it holds a practice day hearing to decide whether a person who did not object may apply. It is a harder path, so object on time if you can.

Primary sources

• Planning Act 2016 (Qld), current consolidation
• Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), Authorised Version 167
• Community participation plans, NSW Planning
• Development application appeals, Land and Environment Court of NSW
• Submissions Policy (April 2024), NSW Planning Portal
• Review of a planning decision by an objector, VCAT

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