Subdividing land in Queensland: what owners need to know

Step one: check what the planning scheme allows

Every council — Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay City and the rest — has a planning scheme that sets minimum lot sizes, frontages and zoning for each area. Before spending money on surveyors and engineers, get a property enquiry or planning report so you know whether your block is code assessable, impact assessable, or simply cannot be split.

Impact assessable applications require public notification and can be submitted to by neighbours, which adds months and risk. Code assessable applications are assessed against the scheme's criteria without notification and are far more predictable.

Step two: the development application

The reconfiguring a lot application goes to council under the Planning Act. A town planner usually prepares it with a proposal plan from a surveyor. Council issues an information request, then a decision notice with conditions, and there is an appeal period before the approval takes effect.

• Approval conditions typically cover access, stormwater, sewer and water connections, driveway crossovers and landscaping
• Infrastructure charges are levied by council and can be a substantial figure — often the largest single cost after construction
• Approvals lapse if not acted on, so check the currency period in the decision notice

Step three: operational works and construction

Most subdivisions then need an operational works approval covering the civil work — services, drainage, kerb and channel, and any road work. The work is built, certified and handed over to council and the service providers before council will sign off.

Step four: survey plan and new titles

A licensed surveyor prepares the survey plan showing the new lots. Council endorses it once conditions are satisfied and any infrastructure charges are paid, then the plan is lodged with the Titles Registry along with any new easements or covenants. New titles issue for each lot.

This is the step that matters commercially: until the plan is registered, the new lot does not legally exist and cannot be transferred on its own.

Selling off the plan before registration

You can sell a proposed lot before the plan registers, but the contract has to be written for it. A standard REIQ house and land contract is not designed for an unregistered lot.

• The contract must be conditional on registration of the survey plan by a sunset date
• Buyers of proposed lots have statutory rights to terminate if the plan is not registered in time or if the lot differs materially from what was disclosed
• Seller disclosure obligations, including the Form 2 regime that applies to Queensland contracts from 1 August 2025, still apply and the disclosure has to describe the proposed lot accurately
• Deposits should be held in a trust account, not released to fund the works

Mortgages, easements and existing dwellings

If the land is mortgaged, the bank must consent to the plan and provide a partial release for each lot sold. Arrange that early — lenders can be slow.

Access, drainage and services frequently require easements over one lot in favour of another. These are prepared and registered with the plan. Where an existing house stays on one lot, check that the new boundary does not cut through eaves, tanks, septic areas or driveways, because a building encroachment across a new boundary has to be dealt with before the plan is endorsed.

What it typically costs

Costs vary widely with the site, but a simple one-into-two suburban subdivision usually involves the planning application fee, a town planner, a surveyor, civil design and construction, service connections, council infrastructure charges, titling and legal fees. Get quotes for each before committing — the infrastructure charges alone can decide whether the project is viable.

We handle the legal side: reviewing the approval conditions, preparing easements and covenants, dealing with the mortgagee, lodging the plan and selling the new lots. Call 0488 340 853 to talk through a specific block.

Subdividing property in Queensland — common questions