Infrastructure Charges
General information
Under the Queensland planning legislation, infrastructure charges are triggered and issued on development approvals for:
- Reconfiguration of a Lot
- Material Change of Use
- Building Work, and
- other development
Under the planning legislation, a levied charge paid to a local government must be used to provide trunk infrastructure. Council’s planning scheme identifies trunk infrastructure in its Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP).
Development approvals issued prior to 1 July 2011:
- Infrastructure contributions and/or charges continue to apply in accordance with the development approval and legislation at the time issued.
Development approvals issued from:
- 1 July 2011 are governed by Local Government Charges Resolutions in accordance with the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and the State Planning Regulatory Provision Adopted Charges.
- 3 July 2017 are governed by Local Government Charges Resolutions in accordance with the Planning Act 2016 and the Planning Regulation 2017.
The Charges Resolution refers to and is to be read in conjunction with the Local Government Infrastructure Plan contained as within Council's Planning Scheme.
Current Charges Resolution
The Noosa Shire Council Charges Resolution (No.8) 2024(PDF, 1MB) was adopted on 15 August 2024 by Council.
The resolution applies to development approvals and charge notices issued from 15 August 2024.
Enquiries can be made via email or phone (07) 5329 6211 / 5329 6449 during office hours.
Council Decision 15 May 2025
In recognition of the value secondary dwellings play in providing modest affordable rental accommodation and supported accommodation for the elderly, Council will stop issuing infrastructure charge notices for secondary dwellings from 1 July 2025. However, all infrastructure charges already issued will remain applicable and payable in full.
Charges Resolution (further details)
The Charges Resolution includes requirements for new development to pay charges towards the provision of trunk infrastructure for:
- Water Supply & Sewerage (Unitywater).
- Transport (Council).
- Stormwater (Council).
- Public Parks & Land for Community Facilities (Council).
In addition to specifying charge rates, the Charges Resolution also deals with other matters such as:
- Apportionment of charges between Unitywater and Council (Charges Break up agreement).
- Calculation of infrastructure charges including credits for existing lawful development or for previous contribution payments.
- Automatic increase provision (indexation) of charges from the base date to the time of issue to the time of payment.
- Offsets and refunds for “trunk” infrastructure identified in the LGIP that is land or works, to be provided by development.
- Recalculation of establishment costs for infrastructure offsets; and
- Conversion applications.
Infrastructure Charges Rebates for Community Organisations
Council is committed to supporting community organisations. Rebates against payment of infrastructure contributions or charges are offered to eligible community organisations.
On 6 February 2014, Noosa Council adopted its policy Infrastructure Charges Rebates for Community Organisation.
A minor amendment to the policy was further made on 1 May 2014.
A further amendment to the policy was adopted by Council on 15 May 2025 and includes:
Development of social and affordable housing will also be eligible for a conditional 100% deferment, in that an Infrastructure Charge notice will be issued in full but only require payment should the residential property no longer remain an affordable rental premise. If the property ceases to be providing a community service, it would no longer be eligible for financial subsidy by the broader community. A deferred infrastructure charge would be subject to indexation until date payable.
Only charitable or non-profit organisations such as registered CHPs may apply for this rebate. Any component of the development which is not affordable rental premises remains subject to normal infrastructure charging.
Find out more on the Housing Strategy initiatives.
The Infrastructure Charges Rebates Community Organisations Policy(PDF, 622KB) only applies to contributions and charges relating to Council infrastructure networks. Rebates do not apply to Water Supply and Sewerage networks under the control of Unitywater.
A request for rebate may be made with the application and demonstrate compliance with the policy.
Methods of payment to Council
Mail
Cheque or money order to be made payable to: Noosa Council
PO Box 141, Tewantin, QLD 4565
In person
Noosa Council, 9 Pelican Street, Tewantin
Office hours: 8.30 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday (excludes public holidays)
Credit card
Mastercard or Visa only
Note: All payments made by credit card will incur a 0.5% surcharge to reflect the cost of fees charged for credit card transactions.
Direct bank Transfer
Payment by electronic transfer direct to Council’s bank account is only available by special arrangement. Email Infrastructure Charges Officer for further enquiries.
Note:
- Infrastructure charges are subject to “Automatic Increase Provisions” (indexation) from the date they are issued to the date that payment is to be made.
- Please contact Council 5 days prior to making payment for the current amount due.
Infrastructure charges register & trunk infrastructure reporting information
In accordance with the Planning Regulation 2017 amendments that commenced on 1 January 2020, the following information is provided for public downloading and viewing:
1. Noosa Shire Council Infrastructure Charges Register(XLSX, 1MB) is in excel format detailing infrastructure contributions and charges issued on development in the Noosa Shire Council area applicable from 1 January 2014. This online version is updated monthly in accordance with regulatory requirements.
2. Noosa Shire Council Infrastructure Charges & Trunk Infrastructure Information(XLSX, 26KB) is in excel format detailing:
- Financial year infrastructure charges revenue and expenditure summary
- Financial year trunk infrastructure information summary
- Forecast infrastructure charges revenue and trunk infrastructure expenditure summary
This online information is updated annually following the Council Annual Report in accordance with regulatory requirements.
3. Infrastructure Charges Notices issued after 1st January 2020 are available for viewing via Planning Online.