Plan sealing

To finalise a subdivision or multiple dwelling development, you must lodge a survey plan with council for approval. This process is known as plan sealing.

You need a sealed plan to create new land titles, easements and/or covenants and to transfer land to council for drainage reserves and parks.

A survey plan is a technical and legal document prepared by a qualified surveyor. Survey plans depict specific information about a property. This includes the property dimensions and boundaries.

The State Government’s Titles Queensland have information about survey standards. Contact Titles Queensland for requirements for plans submitted to them.

Council approves the survey plan once the subdivision or development is finalised and you meet all relevant conditions of the approval. Survey plans can only be approved once:

all earthworks are complete
connection of all essential services infrastructure, like water, sewer, telecommunications and electricity
all construction costs, infrastructure charges and other levies and fees are paid, and
all development conditions are met (including all required certificates).

You must have an approved survey plan to register the individual lots. Registration occurs with the State Government's Titles Queensland. This is your responsibility once council approves your survey plan.

Your survey plan will be in one of the following formats:

Standard format plan

A standard format plan shows the subdivision of land and defines land using a horizontal plane. It includes references to marks on the ground.

Volumetric survey plan

A volumetric format plan defines lots by three dimensionally located points:

height
length
width.

The lots may be above, below or partly above and partly below ground level. They are fully defined by a bounding surface, for example, a cube. A volumetric format plan may divide a lot or lots and/or common property on a standard, building or volumetric format plan of subdivision.

Building format plan

A building format plan is a form of subdivision. It usually applies to multiple dwellings or commercial developments.

A building format plan defines land using the structural elements of a building. These include floors, walls and ceilings. Plans can also show visitor parking spaces, carports or other features in common property, like swimming pools.

This common property and the lots together make up the scheme land for a community titles scheme. A community titles scheme includes:

at least two lots
common property
a single body corporate.

Council approves the building format plan once the development is finalised and you have met all relevant conditions of the approval.

In some cases, a building format plan may include the subdivision of land. This may require application to council for reconfiguration of a lot. We recommend you discuss this with your planning consultant or surveyor.

Request early plan release - building format plans

Council at its discretion, will allow the early release of Building Format Plans (BFP). This can reduce the timeframe to complete your development by allowing plan sealing to occur before satisfying all conditions of approval. This process also allows for completion of works that could be damaged by construction activities if they are complete before other activities onsite.

Council’s Early Release process is subject to:

bonding outstanding work or other outstanding requirements of conditions, and
compliance with all conditions of approval before transfer of lot titles to purchasers.

Requirements for Early Release

Follow these steps to request for Early Release of Building Format Plans.

Step 1. You can submit your request following submission of your Building Format Plan of Subdivision Application.

Step 2. Complete the Early Release Building Format Plans form. This must include confirmation that the developer agrees to not transfer lot titles to purchasers, before achieving compliance with all conditions of approval.

Step 3. Submit for approval:

schedule of uncompleted private works (150% of the value of the uncompleted work), and
details of outstanding certificates ($1,500 per certificate)

Step 4: Pay the early release of building format plan release fee.

Development Services Fees and Charges

Council at its discretion, will allow the early release of BFP plans of subdivision, where:

Incomplete works are limited to:
- Private work to be complete within 1 month of approving plans of subdivision. This includes:
  - driveway crossover,
  - soft landscape elements (planting, soil, mulch)
  - other external finishings (e.g., screening, signage, bike rack).
- Public contributed assets/work subject to uncompleted works bonding agreement. This includes streetscape work e.g.,street trees, footpaths and other verge works.
Uncompleted condition compliance (not specifically relating to works) are limited to certification of:
- acoustics,
- lighting,
- landscape, and
- engineering (excluding geotechnical, acid sulfate soils, structural, groundwater or other certifications required by Council before plan sealing).

Note: Unitywater Certificates and certificates for reticulated electricity and telecommunication cannot be bonded. You must have these before release of the plan of subdivision.

Uncompleted Conditions Bond for all outstanding works associated with conditions of an approval. This is calculated at the rate of:
- 150% of the value of the uncompleted work, and
- outstanding certificates at $1,500 per certificate.

Before submission for early release, council must approve the bond schedule. This bond is separate to any bonding proposed for Council assets under an Uncompleted Works Bond.

Note: a bond administration fee is applicable when you lodge the bond.

Lodging your application

Send the completed Early Release Building Format Plans form, schedule of uncompleted private works and details of outstanding certificates (for approval) to [email protected]. Council will advise you of the application fee payable.
Once Council approved the bond schedule, submit the bond to council. Make sure you include the Operational Works Bond Lodgement Form.

Find out more on our Development and building bonds page.

Community management statement

You need a community management statement (CMS) for a survey plan that includes common property. You also need a CMS when creating a community title; for example, as part of a standard format or building format plan. The community management statement document identifies:

lot entitlements,
body corporate bylaws,
exclusive use areas and
services location diagram.

Plan sealing process

Before council can approve your survey plan, your development must meet all the conditions of approval.

You must pay all rates (including levied rates) and infrastructure charges. Read our rates information and how to make payments.

Make sure you lodge all the relevant supporting information with your request. This will assist council to process your plan sealing request quickly.

Step 1 - Checklist

Before submitting your final survey plan:

complete and email the checklist for approval of survey plans (DOCX, 870KB).
include a copy of survey plan with the checklist.

Council offers several ways to lodge your application and correspondence:

by email to [email protected]
in person or by post.

Within 5 business days of receiving your checklist, Council will advise you of the relevant fees. We will also issue you with an application number. Include this number with your final survey plan.

Step 2 – Make payment

You must pay all application fees before, or when you lodge your final electronic survey plan.

Step 3 - Request approval of survey plan

Use this form to request approval (DOCX, 284KB) of all standard format, volumetric and building format plans for plan sealing.

Council has 20 business days to notify you of approval or non-compliance, as per schedule 18 of the Planning Regulation 2017. If any matters are outstanding, council will contact you within the initial 20 business day period.

Step 4 – Lodge with Titles Queensland

Council approves your survey plan for 6 months. It is your responsibility to lodge your approved plan with the State Government’s Titles Queensland for registration.

You have up to 6 months to lodge your plan. If the approval lapses, you must resubmit your application to council. This includes payment of new lodgement fees, including all up to date rates, water and infrastructure charges.

Dual occupancy plan sealing process

For dual occupancy building format plan requests, we need further information. In addition to the standard plan sealing process steps above, you must complete:

a statutory declaration, and
establishment and compliance - dual occupancy (duplex) form.

Easements, covenants, transfer of land

Legal documentation in favour of council may need to be registered as part of a development approval. This applies if council-owned infrastructure is, or is proposed to be, located on your property. Our covenants and easements page includes the standard terms for all easements and covenants in favour of council. These include:

drainage infrastructure and access rights
overland flow of water
vegetation covenant
acoustic covenant
agricultural buffer covenant
geotechnical covenant.

These terms allow for your solicitor to prepare easements and covenants in favour of council. Then they can lodge them with the approved survey plan for the State Government’s Titles Queensland. Council execution fees are applicable for each document where council is the grantee.

Infrastructure charges

For current infrastructure charges payable for your development approval, please contact council's Infrastructure Charges Officer via email at [email protected]. You need to ensure all infrastructure charges are paid in full prior to release of survey plan. We recommend contacting council’s infrastructure charges at least 3 days before payment.

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