Development Application Activity Across South East Queensland
South East Queensland councils handled 5,612 development applications in the year to June 2026, based on PlanEase's analysis of public council registers across 15 SEQ councils. The activity is heavily concentrated in the larger councils, and the mix of application types says a lot about where the work — and the coordination risk — sits.
For developers, surveyors and planners, knowing what councils are assessing helps you read the market and anticipate where referral and infrastructure pressure is building.
Where the activity is concentrated
Of the councils with decided applications in the period, Brisbane saw by far the most. Application counts, June 2025 – June 2026 (PlanEase analysis):
- Brisbane1,407 applications
- Gold Coast719 applications
- Somerset629 applications
- Sunshine Coast356 applications
- Redland293 applications
- Ipswich292 applications
What's being lodged
Across the 5,612 applications, the most common identifiable application types were:
- Operational works10.7%
- Material change of use7.1%
- Carry out building work5.3%
- Request for compliance assessment3.5%
- Carry out operational work3.0%
Around one in seven applications were lodged without a standardised type recorded, and a long tail of other and council-specific categories makes up the remainder. The dominance of operational works and material change of use reflects the infrastructure and land-use work driving development across the region.
What it means for subdivision and plan sealing teams
Operational works approvals are particularly relevant to subdivision projects: the conditions attached to them — roads, drainage, parks, utilities — have to be certified as complete before a survey plan can be sealed. A caseload heavy in operational works is a caseload heavy in the kind of conditions that decide whether a project reaches registration on time.
The practical takeaway is the same wherever you operate: the volume of approvals is only the start. What determines your timeline is how well the conditions behind each approval are tracked through to plan sealing. See subdivision plan sealing in South East Queensland and plan sealing in Queensland for how that process works.
Frequently asked questions
How many development applications are lodged in South East Queensland?
PlanEase tracked 5,612 development applications across 15 SEQ councils in the year to June 2026. Volumes are concentrated in the larger councils, with Brisbane recording roughly 1,400 applications in the period.
Which council has the most development applications in SEQ?
Among the councils with decided applications in this dataset, Brisbane recorded the most by a wide margin (around 1,400), followed by the Gold Coast. This reflects population and development scale rather than any difference in process.
What are the most common types of development application?
In the SEQ data, operational works (about 11%) and material change of use (about 7%) were the most common identifiable types, followed by building work. A meaningful share of applications were recorded without a standardised type.
Where does this data come from?
It is PlanEase's own analysis of public Queensland council development application registers — 5,612 applications across 15 South East Queensland councils lodged between June 2025 and June 2026, point-in-time as at June 2026.
Turn approvals into registered titles
PlanEase tracks DA and operational works conditions from approval through to plan sealing for SEQ subdivision projects.
See how Planease works →