Plan sealing

Find out the process to request survey plan sealing.

To finalise a subdivision or multiple dwelling development, a survey plan must be lodged 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 including the property dimensions and boundaries.

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

Council approves the survey plan once the subdivision or development is finalised and you have met 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 have been met (including all required certificates).

You require 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:

Community management statement

You need a community management statement for a survey plan that includes common property. It is also needed where a community title will be created, 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. Make sure you lodge all the relevant supporting information with your request. This will assist council to process your plan sealing request quickly and efficiently.

All rates (including levied rates) and infrastructure charges must be paid. Read our rates information and how to make payments.

Step 1 - Checklist

Prior to submission of your final survey plan, complete and email the survey plan and checklist for approval of survey plans (DOCX, 870KB).

Council offers several ways to lodge your application and correspondence:

Council will advise the relevant fees within 5 business days of receiving your checklist. We will also issue you with an application number which you should include with your final survey plan.

Step 2 – Make payment

Payment of application fees is required before or at the time of lodgement of the 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 give you notice 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

Once you receive your approved survey plan, it is your responsibility to lodge it with the State Government’s Titles Queensland for registration. You have up to 6 months to lodge your plan. After 6 months, the council approval lapses. You will then be required to resubmit your application to us with 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 and 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

To obtain 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.