Planning approval

Your first step when planning an entertainment event is to check if you need planning approval. 

Council’s planning scheme guides how land can be used and developed.

Entertainment events may need planning approval if regularly operated at the same location because it may change the approved use of the land (e.g. from carpark to markets).

To find out if you need to submit a development application, you can:

• lodge an enquiry with Council
• arrange a pre-lodgement meeting with Council
• engage a town planning consultant registered with the Planning Institute of Australia
• self-assess your property details against Council’s planning scheme.

You can access Council’s planning scheme using PD Online.

Building approval

Building work for entertainment events may include:

• erecting temporary fixtures (e.g. stages, speaker structures, shade awnings, or grandstand seating)
• temporary tents that have a plan area of more than 100m2 but less than 500m2.

All building work is assessed against the building assessment provisions (including, but not limited to, the National Construction Code and the Queensland Development Code) which set the minimum requirements for building structure, fire safety, access and egress, health and amenity, and energy efficiency.

To find out if you need building approval, you can:

• lodge an enquiry with Council
• engage a building certifier licensed with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission 
• check if the type of building work is accepted development that may not require approval under Building Regulation 2021.

Compliance certificates for building work

Assessable building work requires building approval from a building certifier.  Sometimes the building certifier relies on advice from other people for assessing the design/specification and inspection of buildings.

The building certifier uses these forms to accept advice on assessable building work.

• Form 15 specifies the design and its limitations
• Form 16 confirms the installation or construction meets the design.

Your building certifier will collect these forms if necessary.

During the entertainment event licence application process, Council may ask for a Form 15 that certifies the design of a major component of your business (e.g. temporary stages, marquees or grandstands) and a Form 16 to certify that the component was installed to the design specification.

Find out more about Forms 15 and 16.

Plumbing and drainage approval

Most established locations for entertainment events should have access to water and sewerage connections. You may still require plumbing approval for the release of trade waste to sewer.

The Plumbing Code of Australia forms Volume 3 of the National Construction Code and contains the technical provisions for plumbing and drainage.

Plumbing and drainage work should be conducted by a licensed plumber.

Contact Council or your local water authority for more information.

Trade waste consent

Trade waste is liquid waste produced by a business.  All businesses, including one-off and temporary entertainment events, require consent from the local water authority to release trade waste to the sewer.

Some entertainment events may also need pre-treatment and monitoring equipment (e.g. separators, interceptors, grease traps, or in-sink or in-drain baskets) before discharge to sewer.

If there is no sewerage connection or no trade waste consent, you will need to organise collection of all wastewater and have it removed by a licensed waste transporter.

Cooking fats and oils from fryers are not trade waste. Do not release cooking fats or oils from fryers down any drain. Fats or oils need to be stored in separate waste oil drums and collected by a licensed waste transporter.

The property owner or leasee (depending on the lease agreement) is responsible for organising trade waste consent including the installation of any pre-treatment equipment.

Contact Council or your local water authority to find out more about trade waste consent.