Gold Coast · New house guide
Building a new house in Gold Coast: rules, approval and what the data shows
Gold Coast City Plan (v13) sets the rules for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Gold Coast. The figures on this page come from 4,857 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Gold Coast council, current to 9 Sept 2026.
According to Casa Intelligence analysis of 4,857 decided dwelling-house applications in Gold Coast, 100% were approved.
100%
Approval rate
4,857 of 4,857 decided Gold Coast applications
not held
Median decision time
Not enough dated Gold Coast new-house records
4,857
Decided applications
Gold Coast dwelling-house applications
11
Zones tracked
Gold Coast new-house zone rows citing Gold Coast City Plan (v13)
Do you need council approval for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Gold Coast?
Whether a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Gold Coast needs a development application is decided by Gold Coast City Plan (v13), which places each proposal in one of the three Planning Act 2016 categories: accepted development, code assessable or impact assessable. For a Gold Coast lot the answer turns on the zone, any precinct mapped over it and the overlays that apply, so Gold Coast council does not publish one blanket answer for new-house proposals.
A new house on an ordinary Gold Coast residential lot usually goes through building approval with a private certifier rather than a planning application. That is why the 4,857 dwelling-house applications Gold Coast council has decided in our records are the exceptions: character and heritage overlays, small, steep or flood-affected lots, and zones under Gold Coast City Plan (v13) where a house is not the expected use.
The zone, precinct and overlay position of one Gold Coast address is what settles the pathway for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild), and a free Casa block check reads all three for any Gold Coast lot in seconds.
What Gold Coast’s scheme says about new-house development
The passages below are quoted word for word from Gold Coast City Plan (v13), the instrument Gold Coast council assesses new-house proposals against, from the Small lot housing (infill focus) code and Low density residential zone code, as Casa held the Gold Coast scheme text on 9 Sept 2026.
“The purpose of the Small lot housing (infill focus) code is to provide design benchmarks for smart and compact dwelling house forms on small lots.”
“The purpose of the Low density residential zone code is to provide for Dwelling houses, supported by community uses and small-scale services and facilities that cater for local residents.”
Source for these Gold Coast new-house passages: Gold Coast City Plan (v13) (Gold Coast council)
How new-house applications have fared in Gold Coast
Gold Coast council has decided 4,857 dwelling-house applications in our dataset, approving 4,857 (100%) and refusing 0. That is 1 point above the pooled South East Queensland figure of 99% across 24,107 decided new-house applications in the 7 councils Casa tracks, ranking Gold Coast 1st of 7 for approval rate.
New house work is 14% of everything Gold Coast council has decided in our records (34,623 applications of all kinds), which makes Gold Coast the 3rd largest new-house cohort of the 7 councils.
We do not hold enough dated new-house records for Gold Coast to publish a reliable median decision time, so the timing figures other councils show are left blank here.
The busiest year for new-house decisions in Gold Coast was 2021, with 112 decided. In 2025 Gold Coast council decided 67 and approved 100%, against 69 decided in 2024.
By suburb, Gold Coast's new-house decisions cluster in Pimpama (1,325 decided, 100% approved), Coomera (440 decided, 100% approved) and Hope Island (329 decided, 100% approved).
Gold Coast new-house decisions by year
| Year | Decided | Approved | Refused | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | 112 | 0 | 100% |
| 2022 | 95 | 95 | 0 | 100% |
| 2023 | 60 | 60 | 0 | 100% |
| 2024 | 69 | 69 | 0 | 100% |
| 2025 | 67 | 67 | 0 | 100% |
| 2026 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 100% |
Recent new-house decisions in Gold Coast
The 5 most recently decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Gold Coast council, each cited by Gold Coast's own application number so it can be looked up on the council's register.
| Application | Decision | Decided | Days to decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| PN127418/04/02 | approved | 27 May 2026 | not held |
| PN144096/04/02 | approved | 21 May 2026 | not held |
| PN214998/04/04 | approved | 20 May 2026 | not held |
| PN340374/03/DA1 | approved | 30 Apr 2026 | not held |
| PN40787/04/03 | approved | 28 Apr 2026 | not held |
New house in Gold Coast: common questions
Do I need council approval for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in Gold Coast?
Only your lot's zone, precinct and overlays under Gold Coast City Plan (v13) can answer that for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) at a Gold Coast address. Most Gold Coast houses proceed on building approval alone, and a planning application is triggered by overlays, lot shape or an unusual zone. Gold Coast council has decided 4,857 dwelling-house applications in our records, so the pathway question comes up constantly in Gold Coast.
What is the approval rate for new house (including knockdown-rebuild) applications in Gold Coast?
100% of the 4,857 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Gold Coast council were approved and 0 were refused. Gold Coast sits against a pooled new-house figure of 99% across the 7 South East Queensland councils Casa tracks. These are past Gold Coast decisions and they do not guarantee any future new-house outcome.
What does Gold Coast City Plan (v13) say about new-house development in Gold Coast?
The Small lot housing (infill focus) code (section 9.4.10.2) states: "The purpose of the Small lot housing (infill focus) code is to provide design benchmarks for smart and compact dwelling house forms on small lots."
About this guide
The zone rows on this page come from Casa's rules register for Gold Coast City Plan (v13), and the statistics from 4,857 decided dwelling-house applications recorded against Gold Coast council between 26 June 2007 and 27 May 2026, computed on 9 Sept 2026.
Gold Coast amends its scheme over time, and precincts, local plans and overlays can vary these new-house rules for a single Gold Coast lot. Past Gold Coast 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 Gold Coast block support a new house (including knockdown-rebuild)? Check the address free.
Gold Coast-wide new-house rules give the frame, and a free block check reads the zone, precinct and overlays for one Gold Coast address and returns a Casa Score for a new house (including knockdown-rebuild) in seconds.
What the Gold Coast new house rules mean for your site
This guide covers Gold Coast at council level across 4,857 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 Gold Coast lot, and the comparable Gold Coast approvals, prepared by our planning team and delivered within three business days.