Do I need approval for a dual occupancy in the low density residential zone — fitzroy river accommodation precinct zone in Rockhampton?

Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions). Conditions: dual occupancy is not listed for this precinct. (Source: Rockhampton Region Planning Scheme 2015 (Version 5, 2025-03-28), Table 5.4.1.1.1.)

Do I need approval for a dual occupancy in the low density residential zone — residential stables precinct zone in Rockhampton?

Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions). Conditions: dual occupancy is not listed for this precinct. (Source: Rockhampton Region Planning Scheme 2015 (Version 5, 2025-03-28), Table 5.4.1.1.2.)

Dual occupancy in Rockhampton — do you need approval?

Rockhampton Regional Council's planning scheme — the Rockhampton Region Planning Scheme 2015 (Version 5, 2025-03-28) — decides whether a dual occupancy needs a development application, and the answer depends on the zone your property is in. Below is what its table of assessment says for each zone; or check your own address.

In a low density residential zone

Accepted if you meet the requirements. A dual occupancy is accepted if it meets the zone code requirements, so you usually won't need a development application but must comply with those rules.

1. Where is the property? (optional — it makes the answer specific)

I don't know my zone — choose my council instead

Council Zone

The zone is on your rates notice, or a Landbrief site report will find it for you.

Zone by zone

Dual occupancy. Residential zones first.

Zone	What the table says	Conditions	What you'll need
Low density residential zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.1.1	A dual occupancy is accepted if it meets the zone code requirements, so you usually won't need a development application but must comply with those rules.	Building approvalAssessed against: Low density residential zone code, Works code
Low density residential zone — Fitzroy River accommodation precinct	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.1.1.1	dual occupancy is not listed for this precinct	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Low density residential zone — Residential stables precinct	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.1.1.2	dual occupancy is not listed for this precinct	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Low-medium density residential zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.1.2	A dual occupancy is accepted if it meets the zone code requirements, so you usually won't need a development application but must comply with those rules.	Building approvalAssessed against: Low-medium density residential zone code, Works code
High density residential zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.1.3	Two homes on one lot (dual occupancy) are accepted if they meet the zone and works code requirements, so usually no development application is needed.	Building approvalAssessed against: High density residential zone code, Works code
Rural residential zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.5	A dual occupancy is not listed in this zone, so it falls under 'any other use' and needs an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Township zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.6.7	A dual occupancy is accepted in the Township zone provided it meets the Township zone and Works code requirements, so no development application is needed if those are met.	Building approvalAssessed against: Township zone code, Works code
Emerging community zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.2	A dual occupancy is not listed for the Emerging community zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Community facilities zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.1	A dual occupancy is not listed for the Community facilities zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
District centre zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.2.3	if reusing existing building(s) with no more than minor building workIf not met: a development application with code assessment.	Building approvalAssessed against: District centre zone code, Works code, Access, parking and transport code, Landscape code, Stormwater management code, Waste management code, Water and sewer code
Environmental management and conservation zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.4.1	A dual occupancy is not listed in this zone, so it falls under 'any other use' and needs an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
High impact industry zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.5.3	A dual occupancy is not listed in the High impact industry zone, so it defaults to impact assessment and needs a development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Limited development (constrained land) zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.3	A dual occupancy is not listed in this zone, so it falls under 'any other use' and needs an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Local centre zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.2.4	If the reuse of existing building(s) or structure(s) and not involving more than minor building workIf not met: a development application with code assessment.	Building approvalAssessed against: Local centre zone code, Works code
Low impact industry zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.5.1	A dual occupancy is not listed in the Low impact industry zone, so it defaults to impact assessment and needs a development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Major centre zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.2.2	if reusing existing building(s) with no more than minor building workIf not met: a development application with code assessment.	Building approvalAssessed against: Major centre zone code, Works code, Access, parking and transport code, Landscape code, Stormwater management code, Waste management code, Water and sewer code
Medium impact industry zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.5.2	A dual occupancy is not listed in the Medium impact industry zone, so it defaults to impact assessment and needs a development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Neighbourhood centre zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.4.2.5	If the reuse of existing building(s) or structure(s) and not involving more than minor building workIf not met: a development application with code assessment.	Building approvalAssessed against: Neighbourhood centre zone code, Works code
Open space zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.3.2	A dual occupancy is not listed in the Open space zone, so it defaults to impact assessment and needs a development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Principal centre zone	Accepted if you meet the requirements Tables 5.4.2.1.1–5.4.2.1.4	if reusing existing building(s) with no more than minor building work (in Business services, Core and Quay Street precincts; not listed in Denison Street precinct where it defaults to impact)If not met: a development application with code assessment.	Building approvalAssessed against: Principal centre zone code, Works code, Access, parking and transport code, Landscape code, Stormwater management code, Waste management code, Water and sewer code
Rural zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.4	A dual occupancy is not listed in this zone, so it falls under 'any other use' and needs an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Special industry zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.5.4	A dual occupancy is not listed for the Special industry zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Special purpose zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.6.6	Dual occupancy is not listed in the Special purpose zone, so the default 'any other use' row applies and an impact-assessable development application is required.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Specialised centre zone	It depends — see below Table 5.4.2.6.1/5.4.2.6.2	Accepted subject to requirements/code if located in the relevant residential/mixed-use sub-precinct and reusing existing building; otherwise impactIf not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions).	Building approvalAssessed against: Specialised centre zone code, Works code, The planning scheme
Sport and recreation zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.3.1	Not listed; defaults to 'any other use'	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme
Waterfront and marine industry zone	Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.4.5.5	A dual occupancy is not listed for the Waterfront and marine industry zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application.	Building approvalAssessed against: The planning scheme

Overlays that change the answer

Bushfire hazard overlay — high and very high hazard. A dwelling house or dwelling unit that would otherwise be accepted becomes accepted subject to requirements (must meet the Bushfire hazard overlay code). Multiple dwellings (townhouses/units) become impact assessable — a development application open to public submissions is required. (Table 5.9.4)
Bushfire hazard overlay — buffer and medium hazard. No change to the category, but the Bushfire hazard overlay code applies, including to accepted-subject-to-requirements development. (Table 5.9.4)
Flood hazard overlay — high/extreme hazard (H3-H6) or Local catchment flood planning area 1. A dwelling house that is accepted becomes accepted subject to requirements; dual occupancy, multiple dwellings and most residential uses become impact assessable (full development application with public notification). (Table 5.9.8)
Steep land overlay — slope 25% or greater. A dwelling house, dwelling unit or dual occupancy that would otherwise be accepted or accepted subject to requirements becomes code assessable (a development application is required against the Steep land overlay code). (Table 5.9.11)
Special management area overlay. Dual occupancy and multiple dwellings become impact assessable (full development application with public notification). (Table 5.9.10)

Worth knowing in Rockhampton

IMPORTANT: The scheme's building work table (section 5.6) is 'Not applicable' — the scheme does NOT itself make domestic building work (sheds, carports, pools, fences, extensions, demolition) assessable in the base case. Those projects are generally 'accepted' under the planning scheme (no planning development application), but a building approval under the Building Act 1975 is almost always still required and must be obtained separately. Overlays (especially Flood, Character, Heritage) can change this — see overlay_triggers. Granny flats: the QPP 'Dwelling house' definition includes a secondary dwelling, so a granny flat follows the Dwelling house row of each zone; in residential/township/rural/rural residential/emerging community zones a dwelling house is 'accepted' (or 'accepted subject to requirements' in Emerging community and Rural), but in centre, industry, open space, sport & recreation, community facilities, special purpose, limited development and environmental zones a dwelling house is not listed and falls to the 'any other use' row = impact assessable. Minimum lot sizes for subdivision are set in Table 9.3.5.3.2 of the Reconfiguring a lot code, which was not reproduced in the material provided — specific numeric minimums per zone could not be extracted, so min_lot_size_m2 is null for all zones. Known thresholds: Emerging community = 10 hectares for code assessment; Rural = the minimum nominated in the Reconfiguring a lot code. Many zones have precincts and sub-precincts; the scheme states that for a precinct/sub-precinct the relevant (parent) zone categories apply for reconfiguring and operational work, but material-change-of-use tables can differ by precinct (e.g. Low density residential Fitzroy River accommodation precinct allows some small-scale commercial uses). Tree clearing: the scheme only regulates vegetation clearing as operational work via overlays (Biodiversity, etc.); the general operational work table (5.7.1) mainly covers filling/excavation and access/services works — most vegetation clearing is accepted under the scheme but the State Vegetation Management Act 1999 rules are separate and may still apply. Home-based business is 'accepted subject to requirements' in residential, township, rural, rural residential, industry and emerging community zones (meet the relevant zone code) and 'accepted' in centre zones.

What else you'll need

Building approval

More about Rockhampton

Other projects in Rockhampton

Granny flat Subdivide Shed or carport Extension Pool Fence or wall Home business Townhouses Shop, café or office Clear trees Demolish

The statewide position on this project: Dual occupancy in Queensland.

Read from the Rockhampton Region Planning Scheme 2015 (Version 5, 2025-03-28) tables of assessment. General information, not advice. The council's planning scheme and the Planning Act 2016 decide — confirm with the council or a town planner before you build.