DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT AND APPLICATION PROCESS

The council provides a free pre-lodgement advice service, allowing potential applicants to receive written guidance from planning officers or consult with them directly about their proposals.

This service helps identify and discuss the proposal, highlight key considerations, and clarify the necessary steps in the development application process.

Please complete the Form(PDF, 169KB) to request a free pre-lodgement consultation with our Town Planning Officer.

Guidance on preparing a development application is available at this link.

The Development Assessment (DA) Forms, approved under the Planning Act 2016, are mandatory for all applications submitted under this Act from 3 July 2017 onward.

Development application, Material change of use and Reconfiguration of Lot MUST include consent from both company owners and individual owners. Templates for owner and company declarations can be accessed here.

To review the applicable application costs, refer to the council’s current list of fees and charges.

When submitting an application, relevant plans must also be provided. The DA Forms Guide: Relevant Plans details the required plans for each application type and specifies the necessary information to be included.

Email us

In person

If applicable, the applicant must submit the application and Confirmation Notice to the relevant referral agencies within 10 business days of receiving the Confirmation Notice. This timeframe may be extended if agreed upon by both the assessment manager and the applicant. The applicant then has five business days to notify the assessment manager once the referral has been completed.

During the assessment process, the assessment manager and any referral agency may formally request additional information from the applicant if deemed necessary for evaluating the application. 

The Confirmation Notice will detail the public notification requirement. The public notification involves:

• Publish a notice in The North West Star.
• Install signage on the property.
• Letters to adjoining landowners.

The DA Rules specify when public notification commences. 

You may submit feedback on any impact-assessable development application. If your submission is properly made, the assessment manager is required to accept and consider it when deciding on the application. Additionally, a properly made submission grants you the right to appeal the decision if you are dissatisfied with the outcome.

If a submission is not properly made, the assessment manager may still choose to accept and consider it; however, you will not have the right to appeal the decision.

To be considered properly made, submissions must be:

• In writing.
• State the name and address of each person who made the submission.
• Must be signed by each individual who made the submission and received by the Council within the public notification period.

Clearly express your views on the application. For more information on how to have your say on a development application, refer to the Fact Sheet.

For details on how to make a submission, visit the Planning and Development Information page.

Please send your submission to tplanning@mountisa.qld.gov.au.

The DA Rules set the timeframe within which the assessment manager must make a decision. The assessment manager may decide to:

• Approve the application.
• Approve in part.
• Approve with conditions.
• Refuse the application.

Once a decision is made, the Council will issue a Decision Notice to the applicant and notify all relevant referral agencies and submitters. In accordance with the Planning Act 2016, the assessment manager must also provide a Statement of Reasons along with the Decision Notice.

After a development application has been decided, the Planning Act 2016 specifies certain instances where the applicant or another party can appeal the decision. This includes anyone who made a “properly made submission” during the public notification period. Appeals are lodged with the Planning and Environment Court. Visit the Court website for further information regarding lodging an appeal.