Fences and retaining walls in Fraser Coast — do you need approval?
Fraser Coast Regional Council's planning scheme — the Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014 (Version 11) — decides whether a fence or retaining wall 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
No planning approval needed. A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies.
I don't know my zone — choose my council instead
The zone is on your rates notice, or a Landbrief site report will find it for you.
Zone by zone
Building work (a fence or retaining wall). Residential zones first.
| Zone | What the table says | Conditions | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low density residential zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Medium density residential zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| High density residential zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Rural residential zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Emerging community zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Community facilities zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| District centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Environmental management and conservation zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| High impact industry zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Limited development (constrained land) zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Local centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Low impact industry zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Medium impact industry zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Mixed use zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Neighbourhood centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Open space zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Principal centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Rural zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Specialised centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Sport and recreation zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
| Waterfront and marine industry zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.8.1; section 5.3.2(3) | A fence or retaining wall isn't listed in the building work table, so it is accepted development and needs no development application unless an overlay applies. | Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m |
Overlays that change the answer
- Heritage and neighbourhood character overlay — local heritage place. Building work on a local heritage place becomes code assessable, or impact assessable if it involves demolition, relocation or removal; an accepted change of use becomes code assessable (impact if it involves demolishing the heritage place). (Table 5.10.1 Heritage and neighbourhood character overlay — heritage place)
Worth knowing in Fraser Coast
Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014 (Version 11), Part 5, converted from the council PDF (not an official copy). A material change of use is impact assessable unless the table says otherwise or the use isn't listed (section 5.3.2(1)); reconfiguring a lot is code assessable in every zone except that creating extra lots in the Emerging community and Limited development (constrained land) zones is impact assessable (Table 5.7.1); building work and operational work are accepted unless the tables say otherwise (section 5.3.2(3)). Table 5.8.1 makes building work for a dwelling house, a dual occupancy or a domestic outbuilding on a vacant lot accepted subject to requirements (Dwelling house code / Dual occupancy code) in the Low, Medium and High density residential, Rural, Rural residential and Emerging community zones and in Mixed use Precinct MU1 sub-precinct 2; the table's heading is 'building work associated with a material change of use', so applying it to sheds and extensions on an existing house is an inference. Pools, fences and demolition aren't listed, so they are accepted unless an overlay applies. A building approval under the Building Act is still needed in all cases. Unusually, a dual occupancy is accepted development (no development application) in the Low density residential zone outside Precinct LDR1 and in the Medium density residential zone. A dwelling house (which includes a granny flat) is accepted in the Low, Medium and High density residential, Emerging community, Rural and Rural residential zones, code assessable in the Limited development (constrained land) zone and Mixed use Precinct MU6, and not listed (impact) in centre, industry, recreation and community facilities zones. The Mixed use zone has no zone-wide table: it is split into Precincts MU1 (Urangan Harbour, with sub-precincts 1–11), MU2 (Hervey Bay Airport Business and Industry Park), MU3 (Carriers Arms Hotel), MU4 (Dominion Flour Mill), MU5 (Fraser Island Resorts) and MU6 (Maryborough Residential Airpark), so several answers there are 'varies'. Other precincts: LDR1, HDR1 (Hervey Bay tourism nodes), LII1 (City Reach), MII1 (Hervey Bay entrance, where industry becomes code assessable). Local plans (Tables 5.6.1 Maryborough and 5.6.2 Pialba principal activity centres) override the Principal centre zone and Community facilities zone in their precincts — e.g. residential uses become impact assessable in the Maryborough retail focus and riverfront and Pialba retail core precincts, and offices become impact assessable in the Maryborough inner-city residential and riverfront precincts. Accepted development subject to requirements that doesn't meet the listed acceptable outcomes becomes code assessable (section 5.3.3(2)). Schedule 6 of the Planning Regulation 2017 can make a dwelling house in a residential zone or a community residence accepted regardless of these tables (Table 5.4.1), and subdividing one lot into two in a residential or industry zone is code assessable under Schedule 10 (Table 5.4.2). Overlays override zone and local plan categories (section 5.3.2(8)). Several overlays (acid sulfate soils, agricultural land, extractive resources, infrastructure buffers, water resource catchments) don't change the category but add their overlay code as a benchmark for assessable development. Part 5 states no numeric minimum lot sizes; those are in the zone codes and the Reconfiguring a lot code.
What else you'll need
- Building approval for fences over 2 m or retaining walls over 1 m
More about Fraser Coast
- What can you build in Fraser Coast? Council overview and development applications
- Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
- What Fraser Coast Regional Council charges for a development application, compared with other councils
- A Landbrief site report for your Fraser Coast address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
- Development applications in Urangan
- Development applications in Torquay
- Development applications in Dundowran Beach
- Development applications in River Heads
- Development applications in Pialba
- Development applications in Point Vernon
- Development applications in Wondunna
- Development applications in Craignish
Other projects in Fraser Coast
Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolHome businessTownhousesShop, café or officeClear treesDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Fence or wall in Queensland.
Read from the Fraser Coast Planning Scheme 2014 (Version 11) 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.