Shops, cafés and offices 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 shop, café or office 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
It depends — see below. Shops and offices are only accepted subject to requirements or code-assessable on nominated neighbourhood hub lots and otherwise need an impact-assessable development application.
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
Shop / Food and drink outlet / Office. Residential zones first.
| Zone | What the table says | Conditions | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| General residential zone | It depends — see below Table 5.5.6 | accepted subject to requirements if using an existing building, ≤50m² GFA increase and on a neighbourhood hub lot; code assessable on a neighbourhood hub lot or small corner store otherwiseIf not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions). | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.6 General residential zone code |
| Emerging community zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.3.1.1 | Shop/Office generally not listed except small reuse in Transition developed lot neighbourhood hubsIf not met: a development application with code assessment. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme, 6.2.3 Emerging community zone code |
| Rural residential zone | Needs a development application (code assessment) Table 5.5.11.1 | on a neighbourhood hub lot and using an existing building (ADSR), otherwise code on hub lot; off-hub uses default to impactIf not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions). | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.11 Rural residential zone code |
| Township zone | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.5.12.1.1 / 5.5.12.2.1 | Centre/Convenience precincts: using an existing building and small GFA increase (≤80m²/≤50m²)If not met: a development application with code assessment. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.12 Township zone code |
| Centre zone | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.5.1.1.1 | if in a named centre precinct, using an existing building and increasing GFA by no more than 80m2If not met: a development application with code assessment. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.1 Centre zone code (Part A) |
| Community facilities zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.2.1.1 | Shop and Office are generally not listed (Shop accepted only as a temporary use) | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Environmental management and conservation zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.4.1 | Shop accepted only as a temporary use; Office not listed | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Extractive industry zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.5.1 | Shop, food and drink outlet (except temporary) and office are not listed in the Extractive industry zone, so they default to an impact-assessable development application. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Industry zone | It depends — see below Table 5.5.7 | shop/office code assessable on neighbourhood hub lots or fronting higher-order roads (office in Mixed industry and business precinct); accepted subject to requirements if using existing building on hub lotsIf not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions). | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.7 Industry zone code |
| Limited development zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.8 | Shops (except temporary) and offices are not listed in the Limited development zone, so they default to an impact-assessable development application. | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme |
| Recreation and open space zone | Accepted if you meet the requirements Table 5.5.9.1 | Shop accepted if meeting Table 1.7.7.1; Office/Health care/Short-term accommodation on the listed Klingner Road lots are ADSR/codeIf not met: a development application with impact assessment (neighbours can make submissions). | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: 6.2.9 Recreation and open space zone code |
| Rural zone | Needs a development application (impact assessment — neighbours can make submissions) Table 5.5.10.1 | Food and drink outlet is code; Shop/Office generally not listed (default impact) | Building approval; Food licence (for a café)Assessed against: The planning scheme, 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
- Building approval
- Food licence (for a café)
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 wallHome businessTownhousesClear treesDemolish
The statewide position on this project: Shop, café or office 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.