Brisbane · New house guide
Building a new house in Brisbane: rules, approval and what the data shows
Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36) sets the rules for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Brisbane. The figures on this page come from 8,648 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Brisbane council, current to 9 Sept 2026.
According to Casa Intelligence analysis of 8,648 decided dwelling-house applications in Brisbane, 98% were approved, with a median decision time of 48 days.
98%
Approval rate
8,471 of 8,648 decided Brisbane applications
48 days
Median decision time
Lodgement to decision across 8,636 dated Brisbane cases
8,648
Decided applications
Brisbane dwelling-house applications
20
Zones tracked
Brisbane new-house zone rows citing Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36)
Do you need council approval for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Brisbane?
Whether a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Brisbane needs a development application is decided by Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36), which places each proposal in one of the three Planning Act 2016 categories: accepted development, code assessable or impact assessable. For a Brisbane lot the answer turns on the zone, any precinct mapped over it and the overlays that apply, so Brisbane council does not publish one blanket answer for new-house proposals.
A new house on an ordinary Brisbane residential lot usually goes through building approval with a private certifier rather than a planning application. That is why the 8,648 dwelling-house applications Brisbane council has decided in our records are the exceptions: character and heritage overlays, small, steep or flood-affected lots, and zones under Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36) where a house is not the expected use.
The Brisbane record gives a feel for what assessment involves: a quarter of the 8,636 dated new-house decisions were made within 23 days of lodgement, and a quarter took longer than 93 days.
The zone, precinct and overlay position of one Brisbane address is what settles the pathway for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild), and a free Casa block check reads all three for any Brisbane lot in seconds.
What Brisbane’s scheme says about new-house development
The passages below are quoted word for word from Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36), the instrument Brisbane council assesses new-house proposals against, from the Dwelling house code and Dwelling house (small lot) code, as Casa held the Brisbane scheme text on 9 Sept 2026.
“The purpose of the Dwelling house code is to assess the suitability of development to which this code applies.”
“The purpose of the Dwelling house (small lot) code is to assess the suitability of development to which this code applies.”
Source for these Brisbane new-house passages: Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36) (Brisbane council)
How new-house applications have fared in Brisbane
Brisbane council has decided 8,648 dwelling-house applications in our dataset, approving 8,471 (98%) and refusing 177. That is 1 point below the pooled South East Queensland figure of 99% across 24,107 decided new-house applications in the 7 councils Casa tracks, ranking Brisbane 5th of 7 for approval rate.
New house work is 6.0% of everything Brisbane council has decided in our records (144,775 applications of all kinds), which makes Brisbane the largest new-house cohort of the 7 councils.
The median Brisbane decision took 48 days from lodgement, measured across the 8,636 new-house applications with both dates recorded, 10 days faster than the 58-day middle council for this cohort. Brisbane decisions made since the start of 2024 ran at a median of 32 days (128 cases), 16 days shorter than the long-run Brisbane figure.
The busiest year for new-house decisions in Brisbane was 2016, with 526 decided. In 2025 Brisbane council decided 82 and approved 98%, against 32 decided in 2024.
By suburb, Brisbane's new-house decisions cluster in Camp Hill (402 decided, 99% approved), Bardon (368 decided, 98% approved) and Hendra (327 decided, 99% approved).
Brisbane new-house decisions by year
| Year | Decided | Approved | Refused | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | 76 | 2 | 97% |
| 2022 | 36 | 33 | 3 | 92% |
| 2023 | 34 | 33 | 1 | 97% |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 100% |
| 2025 | 82 | 80 | 2 | 98% |
| 2026 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 86% |
Recent new-house decisions in Brisbane
The 3 most recently decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Brisbane council, each cited by Brisbane's own application number so it can be looked up on the council's register.
| Application | Decision | Decided | Days to decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| A006918272 | Refused | 19 May 2026 | 162 days |
| A006964520 | Approved | 1 May 2026 | 70 days |
| A006989464 | Approved | 1 May 2026 | 35 days |
New house in Brisbane: common questions
Do I need council approval for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Brisbane?
Only your lot's zone, precinct and overlays under Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36) can answer that for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) at a Brisbane address. Most Brisbane houses proceed on building approval alone, and a planning application is triggered by overlays, lot shape or an unusual zone. Brisbane council has decided 8,648 dwelling-house applications in our records, so the pathway question comes up constantly in Brisbane.
What is the approval rate for new house (including knockdown-rebuild) applications in Brisbane?
98% of the 8,648 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Brisbane council were approved and 177 were refused. Brisbane sits against a pooled new-house figure of 99% across the 7 South East Queensland councils Casa tracks. These are past Brisbane decisions and they do not guarantee any future new-house outcome.
How long does new house (including knockdown-rebuild) approval take in Brisbane?
The median time from lodgement to decision across the 8,636 dated new-house applications in Brisbane was 48 days. A quarter of Brisbane decisions came within 23 days and a quarter took longer than 93 days. Since the start of 2024 the Brisbane median has been 32 days across 128 decisions.
What does Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36) say about new-house development in Brisbane?
The Dwelling house code (section 9.3.7.2) states: "The purpose of the Dwelling house code is to assess the suitability of development to which this code applies."
About this guide
The zone rows on this page come from Casa's rules register for Brisbane City Plan 2014 (v36), and the statistics from 8,648 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Brisbane council between 30 Jan 2004 and 19 May 2026, computed on 9 Sept 2026.
Brisbane amends its scheme over time, and precincts, local plans and overlays can vary these new-house rules for a single Brisbane lot. Past Brisbane decisions describe how comparable new-house proposals fared and do not predict any future application.
This page is general information, not planning or legal advice.
Would a Brisbane block support a new house (including knockdown-rebuild)? Check the address free.
Brisbane-wide new-house rules give the frame, and a free block check reads the zone, precinct and overlays for one Brisbane address and returns a Casa Score for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in seconds.
What the Brisbane new house rules mean for your site
This guide covers Brisbane at council level across 8,648 decided dwelling-house applications. A Preliminary Planning Report covers one address: the likely pathway for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild), the constraints on that Brisbane lot, and the comparable Brisbane approvals, prepared by our planning team and delivered within three business days.