Running a business from home in Banana — do you need approval?
Banana Shire Council's planning scheme — the Banana Shire Planning Scheme 2021 — decides whether a home business 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 general residential zone code
Accepted if you meet the requirements. Running a business from home is usually allowed without a development application if it meets the set requirements, otherwise a code-assessed application is needed.
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
Home-based business. Residential zones first.
| Zone | What the table says | Conditions | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Residential Zone Code | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 4.2 (General Residential Zone MCU table) | if it meets the home based business requirements in the zone codeIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: General Residential Zone Code |
| Rural Residential Zone Code | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 4.2 (Rural Residential Zone MCU table) | if it meets the home based business requirements in the zone codeIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Rural Residential Zone Code |
| Township Zone Code | Accepted if you meet the requirements Township Zone table | if compliant with the home based business requirementsIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Township Zone Code |
| Centre Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Centre Zone) | Where the zone table is silent on a home based business it falls under 'any other use', so an impact-assessable development application would be required unless the zone table lists it otherwise. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Centre Zone Code |
| Community Facilities Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Community Facilities Zone) | A home based business defaults to 'any other use' in this zone, so an impact-assessable development application would be required unless the zone table lists it otherwise. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Community Facilities Zone Code |
| Environmental Management and Conservation Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Environmental Management and Conservation Zone) | A home based business defaults to 'any other use' in this zone, so an impact-assessable development application would be required unless the zone table lists it otherwise. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Environmental Management and Conservation Zone Code |
| Industry Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5 (Industry Zone) | A home based business defaults to 'any other use' in the Industry Zone, so an impact-assessable development application would be required unless the zone table lists it otherwise. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Industry Zone Code |
| Mixed Use Zone Code | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 4.2 (zone MCU table) | if it meets the home based business requirements in the zone/use codeIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Mixed Use Zone Code |
| Recreation and Open Space Zone Code | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 4.2 (zone MCU table) – any other use | A home based business relies on a dwelling, which is not an expected use in this zone, so an impact-assessed development application would apply under the default row. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Recreation and Open Space Zone Code |
| Rural Zone Code | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.10.3 (Rural Zone) | if compliant with the home based business requirementsIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Rural Zone Code |
| Special Industry Zone Code | Needs a development application (code assessment) Part 5 zone table | A home based business in the Special Industry Zone is not a typical use and generally needs a development application. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: Special Industry Zone Code |
Overlays that change the answer
The table above is the base case, before any overlay. Flood, bushfire, landslide, heritage and character overlays are the usual reasons a normally-accepted project becomes a development application — add your address above and the tool flags the ones that apply to your lot.
Worth knowing in Banana
Minimum lot sizes are not listed in the Tables of Assessment — they are in Table 6.3.6 of the Reconfiguring a Lot Code, which was not provided. For every zone, subdividing is code assessable where resulting lots meet the minimum lot areas of Table 6.3.6, and impact assessable where any lot does not comply (Table 4.3.1). Amalgamation of lots and creation of an access easement to one lot are accepted/ADSR in all zones. MUIRS ROAD PRECINCT (Rural Zone): the accepted and accepted-subject-to-requirements MCU pathways in Table 4.1.1, the accepted/ADSR earthworks and minor-electricity operational-work pathways, and some other concessions do NOT apply in this precinct; building work in the Muirs Road Precinct not associated with a material change of use is code assessable against the Rural Zone Code. COMMUNITY FACILITIES ZONE Precinct 6: operational work for a municipal waste facility is accepted. Zone-specific material change of use categories (granny_flat, dual_occupancy, home_business, townhouses, shop_office, etc.) are set by the individual zone codes in Part 5, which were not supplied here — rules for those uses will rely on each zone code's table of assessment and default/'any other use' rows. A building approval under the Building Act may still be required even where planning assessment is 'accepted'.
What else you'll need
- Nothing beyond the planning scheme's own requirements.
More about Banana
- What can you build in Banana? Council overview and development applications
- Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
- What Banana Shire Council charges for a development application, compared with other councils
- A Landbrief site report for your Banana address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
Other projects in Banana
Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolFence or wallTownhousesShop, café or officeClear treesDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Home business in Queensland.
Read from the Banana Shire Planning Scheme 2021 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.