A change of use occurs when a property or building is proposed to be used for a different purpose than what it was originally approved for by the local council. In the eyes of the law, the physical building and the activity that happens inside it are assessed separately.
Councils regulate land use to ensure that the activities happening in a neighbourhood are compatible with the surrounding area. When you change the use of a premises, you change its impact on the community – a new use might generate more traffic, require different parking ratios, produce different noise levels, or alter the waste management requirements for a site.
“Whether you are opening a business, converting a warehouse, or changing how a residential property is used – the planning rules apply equally. Getting the right approval first is always less expensive than fixing it later.”
COLIN FRAGAR, APPROVAL STRATEGIST
Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), a change of use is classified as development under s.1.5 and requires development consent under s.4.1. Carrying out development without consent is an offence under s.9.34, with penalties of up to $1.1 million for individuals and $5 million for corporations.
Under the Planning Act 2016 (Qld), a change of use is defined as a “material change of use” under s.10 and constitutes assessable development requiring a development permit under s.44. Undertaking assessable development without a permit is an offence under s.163, with penalties of up to 4,500 penalty units (approx. $548,000) for individuals and five times that amount for corporations.
Our town planners assist business owners, property investors, and residential property owners across a wide range of commercial and residential conversions throughout NSW, Queensland, and Victoria.
| Previous Approved Use | Proposed New Use | Why Council Cares |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Shop | Café or Restaurant | Increased waste, grease traps, exhaust ventilation, extended trading hours, and higher parking demand. |
| Warehouse | Gym or Fitness Studio | Acoustic impacts from music and equipment, early morning operating hours, and significant parking requirements. |
| Office Space | Medical Centre or Allied Health | Specific accessibility requirements, clinical waste disposal, and high patient turnover generating traffic. |
| Residential Dwelling | Childcare Centre | Strict state environmental planning policies, traffic generation in quiet streets, and acoustic impacts on neighbours. |
| Residential Dwelling | Granny Flat or Secondary Dwelling | In NSW, compliance with SEPP (Affordable Rental Housing) standards. In QLD, compliance with the Queensland Development Code. Setbacks, site coverage, and infrastructure contributions apply in all states. |
| Single Dwelling | Dual Occupancy or Boarding House | Zoning permissibility, density controls, parking requirements, and neighbourhood character impacts. |
| Retail Shop | Hairdresser, Beauty Salon, or Tattoo Studio | State health regulations (NSW Health, Queensland Health, or the Victorian Department of Health), plumbing requirements, and skin penetration compliance standards. |
| Warehouse or Factory | Place of Public Worship or Community Facility | Parking demand, operating hours, and compatibility with surrounding industrial uses. |
| Industrial Building | Creative Studio, Co-Working, or Office | Land use permissibility under the Local Environmental Plan (NSW), planning scheme (QLD/VIC), and potential conflict with industrial zone objectives. |
Every council applies the same broad assessment framework, even though the specific rules vary by local government area. Understanding these five tests is the difference between a well-prepared application and an expensive refusal.
The Local Environmental Plan (LEP) lists what uses are allowed as of right, what requires a discretionary DA, and what is prohibited. If your proposed use is prohibited in the zone, no amount of good documentation will get it approved.
Site coverage, setbacks, parking ratios, building height, landscaping, and amenity are all measured against the Development Control Plan (DCP). A shortfall in any one of these can trigger a refusal or require a design change.
Heritage listings, flood mapping, bushfire-prone land, acid sulfate soils, and transport corridor overlays each add extra assessment tests. Many applicants are unaware of the overlays affecting their site until they lodge - and by then it is too late.
Council weighs up overlooking, noise, traffic generation, and streetscape character against the planning scheme's intent. Neighbour objections can trigger a longer assessment process and, in some cases, a refusal.
A site plan, floor plan, elevations, Statement of Environmental Effects, and any required technical reports (traffic, acoustic, heritage) are typically required. An incomplete application is the most common cause of avoidable delays.
Securing a change of use is not a one-size-fits-all process – and the rules differ between NSW, Queensland, and Victoria. Choosing the wrong pathway, or submitting the wrong documentation for your state, can result in months of delays or an outright refusal.
In very specific, limited circumstances, a change of use may not require formal planning permission if it meets the strict criteria for ‘exempt development.’ This typically only applies when changing between highly similar business categories – for example, moving from one type of retail shop to another.
Heritage-listed properties, sites within conservation areas, and land subject to certain environmental constraints are generally excluded from this pathway entirely.
A CDC is a fast-tracked approval issued by a private certifier rather than the local council. If your proposed use perfectly aligns with the strict development standards outlined in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, a CDC can sometimes be secured in weeks rather than months.
If your property is in a heritage conservation area, flood zone, or bushfire-prone land, or if the proposed use does not fully comply with parking or building standards, the CDC pathway is generally off the table.
When a proposed change of use cannot meet the criteria for exempt or complying development, a full Development Application (DA) must be lodged with the local council. In NSW, this involves assessment under s.4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. In Queensland, it is a development permit application under the Planning Act 2016. In Victoria, it is a planning permit application under the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
A DA requires a Statement of Environmental Effects, floor plans, parking analysis, acoustic or traffic reports, heritage impact statement, fire safety schedule, and more. The right planning consultant can make the difference between a refusal and an approval.
Determining which pathway applies to your property requires a deep understanding of Local Environmental Plans (LEPs), Development Control Plans (DCPs), and state planning policies. Attempting to guess your pathway is a risk you do not need to take. And if a change of use is not going to fly at your site, we will tell you upfront – saving you thousands in design fees, consultant reports, and time.
Many property owners and business operators assume that because they are not doing any major construction, they do not need council permission to change how a property is used. This is one of the most common and costly misconceptions in planning law across NSW, Queensland, and Victoria.
Councils and local governments actively police unlawful land use across all three states, and they frequently discover unapproved uses through routine inspections, development applications on neighbouring sites, or complaints from neighbours. This applies equally to commercial premises, residential conversions, and home-based businesses in NSW, Queensland, and Victoria.
The financial and reputational cost of getting this wrong far outweighs the cost of getting it right from the start.
— Councils can issue a show-cause or enforcement notice ordering you to stop the new use immediately – often without prior warning.
— In serious cases, council can order you to demolish building works and restore the property to its original state – at your cost.
Unapproved use surfaces during conveyancing, scaring off buyers and financiers, triggering reduced valuations or collapsed contracts.
— Councils are not obligated to approve an unauthorised use retrospectively. The longer you wait, the harder – and more expensive – it becomes.
Local councils have the power to issue immediate monetary penalties under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
For serious or continuing offences, councils can commence court proceedings. In NSW, the Land and Environment Court can impose penalties up to $5 million for corporations. In Queensland, the Planning and Environment Court can impose penalties up to five times the individual maximum. In Victoria, VCAT and the Planning and Environment Court both have jurisdiction.
The council can issue an order requiring you to immediately cease the unapproved use of the property. For a business, this means shutting your doors. For a residential conversion, it can mean tenants must vacate and rental income stops.
Operating or occupying a property without the correct approval can void your insurance coverage – business, public liability, or landlord insurance – leaving you personally exposed to any claims arising from the property.
A change of use application with council can make you feel overwhelmed or drowning in endless paperwork and compliance. You’re not alone…
If you are not a town planner, dealing with Council can be a nightmare, not to mention very expensive in both time and money. Plus, we’re pretty sure, you have better things to do.
Getting the right advice on your change of use application is important so that you can get up and running as soon as possible.
That’s where we fit. It’s what we do, all day, everyday. With a team of 20+ highly knowledgeable town planners and property consultants, with more than 387 years of town planning experience, we’re pretty good at what we do. To help streamline projects we also support our clients with the help of our in house architect and draftsman.
These are the questions we hear most often from business owners, property investors, and residential property owners navigating the change of use process across NSW, Queensland, and Victoria.
“Can’t find the answer to your specific situation here? That’s the point – every site is different. Book a free consultation and get a straight answer from an expert.”
*We have a 98% success rate in achieving development approval where our client follows our proven 7 Step formula which we have developed over the past 25+ years and where the client is willing to go all the way to seek that approval on appeal if needed.
The key? Our Preliminary Planning Assessment, inclusive of your personal Project Strategy Session.
To get that success rate it has only come after helping over 50,000 people. We’ve worked hard to smooth out the kinks before they appear by carrying out this Preliminary Planning Assessment (PPA) on your property. It works a treat, especially for what it can do for you, the journey of the project and its future.
Want to learn more about a PPA and how to get one? Book a FREE CONSULT
We could make up a fantasied timeframe to wow you, but to be straight up the length of getting an approval is dependent on the project development type, the local council, who examines your application within council, location of the property within the local council and on the property itself, and the list goes on. The approval process will no doubt take longer than you expect because we are dealing with administrative red tape.
But what our team has done has studied the 50,000+ properties we have been involved in and analysed the 300+ flight years of team council approval experience to create a formidable system.
So to answer the question, how long does it take for us to get council approval? The fastest in our industry.
We have over 20 team members lead by our founder Max Fragar with his 50 consecutive years of town planning and council approval knowledge. The team is made up of skilled town planners, property consultants and designers that we have hand picked to work on your project. It turns out that we’ve had over 300 collective years of experience working and dealing with local government councils.
What does this mean for you? One word, streamline. We know how to talk the council lingo, can perceive even predict the ins and outs of those council hoops of fire, and understand the nitty gritty to work tirelessly to achieve the best outcomes for our clients and their projects.
Check out our current team
Our firm currently has the capacity to assist clients with projects located across New South Wales, Victoria and South East Queensland. We anticipate being able to offer our services to other states in the near future.
Get ready, this could be the best decision you’ll make in the lifetime of your property portfolio.
If you’re looking at a property or already own one and you’re serious about making the property work harder for you, the next step is to book a free 30 minute consultation to speak to one of our property consultants.
In this initial discussion you’ll help us to understand the seriousness of your intent about moving forward with your property plans and to see if we’re the right fit for each other.
