Running a business from home in Moreton Bay — do you need approval?
City of Moreton Bay's planning scheme — the Moreton Bay Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (Version 8, 2026-09-11) — 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
No planning approval needed. A home based business is accepted if it meets the accepted criteria, otherwise accepted subject to requirements, so often no development 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 | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.6 | if complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.6 General residential zone code |
| Emerging community zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.3.1.1 | if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances for accepted developmentIf not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.3 Emerging community zone code (Interim precinct only) |
| Rural residential zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.11.1 | if complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.11 Rural residential zone code |
| Township zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.12.1.1 / 5.5.12.3.1 | if complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1 (Residential precinct also ADSR otherwise)If not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.12 Township zone code |
| Centre zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.1.1.1 | if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances for accepted developmentIf not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.1 Centre zone code (Part A) |
| Community facilities zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.2.1.1 | if complying with Table 1.7.7.1 circumstances for accepted developmentIf not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.2 Community facilities zone code (relevant precinct only) |
| Environmental management and conservation zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.4.1 | A home based business is not listed in this zone, so it falls under the default row and needs an impact-assessed development application. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: The planning scheme |
| Extractive industry zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.5.1 | Home based business is not listed in the Extractive industry zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: The planning scheme |
| Industry zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.5.7 | if not complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1 (General industry precinct always code)If not met: no planning approval needed. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.7 Industry zone code |
| Limited development zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.8 | Home based business is not listed in the Limited development zone, so it defaults to an impact-assessable development application. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: The planning scheme |
| Recreation and open space zone | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.5.9.1 | if complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions). | Nothing further under the planning scheme |
| Rural zone | No planning approval needed Table 5.5.10.1 | if complying with the circumstances for accepted development in Table 1.7.7.1If not met: accepted if you meet the requirements. | Nothing further under the planning schemeAssessed against: 6.2.10 Rural 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 Moreton Bay
The planning scheme's tables of assessment do not state numeric minimum lot sizes for reconfiguring a lot in any zone — the minimum lot size (and frontage) is set by the applicable 9.4.1 'Reconfiguring a lot code' for the relevant zone/precinct and the zone code, which are not reproduced in the Part 5 tables provided here. All reconfiguring a lot is code assessable 'if not otherwise specified' (impact assessment is the catch-all for anything not meeting the code's criteria). Separate state rules apply: Schedule 12 of the Planning Regulation makes reconfiguring a lot in Residential and Industry zones code assessable against the Schedule 12 benchmarks; a building approval under the Building Act is still required for building work even where the planning scheme treats it as accepted development; and the Vegetation Management Act may separately regulate clearing of native vegetation. Several zones are divided into precincts that materially change the answer for some projects — notably the Emerging community zone (Interim precinct vs Transition precinct developable lot vs developed lot, the latter mirroring the General residential Next generation neighbourhood precinct), the Community facilities zone precincts (where a Dwelling house is accepted subject to requirements and is NOT assessed under the Dwelling house code), and the Township zone precincts. In the Rural zone and Rural residential zone a Dwelling house is accepted development subject to requirements assessed under the relevant zone code (not the Dwelling house code). The Redcliffe Kippa-Ring local plan and Caboolture West local plan replace the base zone tables for land within those local plan areas and can change the category of development (e.g. in Caboolture West's Urban living precinct reconfiguring is impact assessable unless within an approved Neighbourhood Development Plan). Where more than one overlay applies, the highest category of assessment applies.
What else you'll need
- Nothing beyond the planning scheme's own requirements.
More about Moreton Bay
- What can you build in Moreton Bay? Council overview and development applications
- Every Queensland zone explained, with what each council allows and the planning overlays that change the answer
- What City of Moreton Bay charges for a development application, compared with other councils
- A Landbrief site report for your Moreton Bay address — every planning layer that applies to the lot
Other projects in Moreton Bay
Granny flatDual occupancySubdivideShed or carportExtensionPoolFence or wallTownhousesShop, café or officeClear treesDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Home business in Queensland.
Read from the Moreton Bay Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 (Version 8, 2026-09-11) 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.