Following the election in March last year, the Queensland Government adopted the Temporary State Planning Policy 1/12 – Planning for Prosperity (Temporary SPP). The Temporary SPP embodied the State's intent to reform Queensland's planning system to facilitate economic growth in the agriculture, construction, mining and tourism sectors, which have been identified by the State Government as the "four pillars of the economy".

Other post election commitments of the Queensland Government included the return of planning and assessment powers to local governments, and the development of a single State Planning Policy embodying all of the State's interests to enable local governments to more easily reflect and balance these interests in its own planning instruments and assessments.

The Queensland Government has now released a Draft Single State Planning Policy (Draft SPP) to take the place of the 14 separate SPP's previously developed by the State. The Draft SPP groups 18 State interests, under 5 categories:

  • housing and liveable communities;
  • economic growth;
  • environment and heritage;
  • hazards and safety; and
  • transport and infrastructure.

The Draft SPP sets out and prescribes:

  • State interests and related policies that local governments must take into account in preparing and amending planning schemes and other local planning instruments, and the State may consider in preparing and amending Regional Plans;
  • where a development application is assessed under a local government planning scheme or State Government regional plan that does not reflect the new Single State Planning Policy (once adopted), the Draft SPP prescribes requirements that must apply to certain applications. For example, where a reconfiguration or material change of use application is made in relation to land that has been designated a "Key Resource Area" by the State, the Draft SPP prescribes criteria against which the application must be assessed; and
  • the matters that must be considered by a Minister before designating land for community infrastructure.

The Draft SPP can be viewed on the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning's website: http://www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/about-planning/have-your-say-draft-state-planning-policy.html

Submissions on the Draft SPP can be made until 12 June 2013 to the Planning Minister, being the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning.

We recommend that you take the time to make comment on the Draft SPP prior to 12 June 2013, if the prescriptive criteria that is to be applied to the assessment of certain types of development or State land designations, are likely to impact on your property or business.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.