Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment 7 - Business Improvement and Innovation

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Council is proposing an amendment to the Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 to support business improvement and innovation.


What are the changes included in the amendment?

Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 – Business Improvement and Innovation incorporates a broad suite of improvements to and in support of innovation in the areas of tourism, agriculture, emerging technologies, mapping, reduction of red tape to support new or expanding businesses, improving urban amenity, updating outdated references. The proposed amendment includes five main themes, being:

  • Theme 1 – Promoting Tourism
  • Theme 2 – Nurturing Agribusiness
  • Theme 3 – Red tape reduction and improving clarity
  • Theme 4 – Keeping our towns beautiful
  • Theme 5 – Mapping and administrative changes


Public Consultation

Council completed public consultation for draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation) from 10 February 2023 to 28 April 2023. The overall purpose of this formal public consultation was to engage with the Central Highlands community and other key stakeholders regarding the draft amendment and their opportunity to be informed and involved.

Information about the amendment and how to get involved was communicated via multiple mediums including newspapers, online notices and radio advertisements, social media posts, online information, this "Have Your Say" page, the eplan (an interactive electronic planning scheme platform), public information sessions and consultation events, personalised letters, emails to individuals who had registered their interest and multiple opportunities and ways to speak to a subject matter expert.

Council received 44 submissions regarding the amendment. Of the 44 submissions, 32 submissions (72%) were primarily in objection to the proposed tourism and ecotourism precincts.

The Public Consultation Report (Part 1) summarises the activities and outcomes of the public consultation.


How has council responded to community feedback?

In response to the submissions received during the public consultation period, various revisions have been made to the proposed amendment, including removing the proposed Tourism and Ecotourism precincts. The revised amendment continues to balance numerous different interests across the region including supporting both tourism and agriculture through a number of avenues.

The revised amendment package is compiled of the following documents available from this webpage.


On 13 December 2023, the revised amendment package was presented at the General Council Meeting and Central Highlands Regional Council resolved to:

  1. Endorse the Public Consultation Reports (Part 1 and 2) and in accordance with section 18.4 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, authorise its publication on the Central Highlands Regional Council’s website and for a link to it to be provided together with a letter to submitters and affected landholders.
  2. Endorse the final draft of the proposed Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation).
  3. Authorise council officers to, in accordance with section 21.1 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, give notice to the Minister and request approval for to adopt the proposed amendment.
  4. Authorise the Chief Executive Officer, on the provision that the Minister does not apply any conditions, to undertake all steps identified in section 22 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, to enable the adoption and commencement of the proposed amendment in a timely manner.
  5. Approve the repealing of Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) 02/2022 - Operational work involving vegetation clearing within the Carnarvon Gorge area at the time of the commencement of the planning scheme amendment.

2023 / 12 / 13 / 005 Carried (7-0)

A copy of the meeting minutes will become available from this location in the next week or you can view the livestream recording via Utube.

This PowerPoint was presented in the general council meeting and summarises what occurred during and post consultation.


What will happen next?

Council officers posted a personalised response to every person who made a submission on 15 December 2023. Landholders who were affected by a proposed change to a zone or introduction of a precinct will also receive a letter (via Australia Post) advising the outcome for their specific property. Keep an eye on your mailbox for these!

The revised amendment package was submitted to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning on 18 December 2023.

Within 40 business days of receiving the proposed, the Minister must give council a notice stating—

  1. if the proposed amendment may be adopted; and
  2. the Minister’s conditions, if any, that apply to the proposed amendment; or
  3. if the proposed amendment may not be adopted, and the reasons why it may not be adopted.


How to view the amendment

You can view the amendment by reviewing the document library on this page.

If adopted, you will also be able to view the proposed amendment online in our eplan .


For enquiries, please contact council's Strategic Land Use team (details on the side of the page or bottom of the page on a mobile device).

Private appointments can be arranged by contacting council's Strategic Land Use team on 1300 242 686 or via an email to planningscheme@chrc.qld.gov.au.

Council is proposing an amendment to the Central Highlands Regional Council Planning Scheme 2016 to support business improvement and innovation.


What are the changes included in the amendment?

Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 – Business Improvement and Innovation incorporates a broad suite of improvements to and in support of innovation in the areas of tourism, agriculture, emerging technologies, mapping, reduction of red tape to support new or expanding businesses, improving urban amenity, updating outdated references. The proposed amendment includes five main themes, being:

  • Theme 1 – Promoting Tourism
  • Theme 2 – Nurturing Agribusiness
  • Theme 3 – Red tape reduction and improving clarity
  • Theme 4 – Keeping our towns beautiful
  • Theme 5 – Mapping and administrative changes


Public Consultation

Council completed public consultation for draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation) from 10 February 2023 to 28 April 2023. The overall purpose of this formal public consultation was to engage with the Central Highlands community and other key stakeholders regarding the draft amendment and their opportunity to be informed and involved.

Information about the amendment and how to get involved was communicated via multiple mediums including newspapers, online notices and radio advertisements, social media posts, online information, this "Have Your Say" page, the eplan (an interactive electronic planning scheme platform), public information sessions and consultation events, personalised letters, emails to individuals who had registered their interest and multiple opportunities and ways to speak to a subject matter expert.

Council received 44 submissions regarding the amendment. Of the 44 submissions, 32 submissions (72%) were primarily in objection to the proposed tourism and ecotourism precincts.

The Public Consultation Report (Part 1) summarises the activities and outcomes of the public consultation.


How has council responded to community feedback?

In response to the submissions received during the public consultation period, various revisions have been made to the proposed amendment, including removing the proposed Tourism and Ecotourism precincts. The revised amendment continues to balance numerous different interests across the region including supporting both tourism and agriculture through a number of avenues.

The revised amendment package is compiled of the following documents available from this webpage.


On 13 December 2023, the revised amendment package was presented at the General Council Meeting and Central Highlands Regional Council resolved to:

  1. Endorse the Public Consultation Reports (Part 1 and 2) and in accordance with section 18.4 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, authorise its publication on the Central Highlands Regional Council’s website and for a link to it to be provided together with a letter to submitters and affected landholders.
  2. Endorse the final draft of the proposed Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation).
  3. Authorise council officers to, in accordance with section 21.1 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, give notice to the Minister and request approval for to adopt the proposed amendment.
  4. Authorise the Chief Executive Officer, on the provision that the Minister does not apply any conditions, to undertake all steps identified in section 22 of the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules, to enable the adoption and commencement of the proposed amendment in a timely manner.
  5. Approve the repealing of Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) 02/2022 - Operational work involving vegetation clearing within the Carnarvon Gorge area at the time of the commencement of the planning scheme amendment.

2023 / 12 / 13 / 005 Carried (7-0)

A copy of the meeting minutes will become available from this location in the next week or you can view the livestream recording via Utube.

This PowerPoint was presented in the general council meeting and summarises what occurred during and post consultation.


What will happen next?

Council officers posted a personalised response to every person who made a submission on 15 December 2023. Landholders who were affected by a proposed change to a zone or introduction of a precinct will also receive a letter (via Australia Post) advising the outcome for their specific property. Keep an eye on your mailbox for these!

The revised amendment package was submitted to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning on 18 December 2023.

Within 40 business days of receiving the proposed, the Minister must give council a notice stating—

  1. if the proposed amendment may be adopted; and
  2. the Minister’s conditions, if any, that apply to the proposed amendment; or
  3. if the proposed amendment may not be adopted, and the reasons why it may not be adopted.


How to view the amendment

You can view the amendment by reviewing the document library on this page.

If adopted, you will also be able to view the proposed amendment online in our eplan .


For enquiries, please contact council's Strategic Land Use team (details on the side of the page or bottom of the page on a mobile device).

Private appointments can be arranged by contacting council's Strategic Land Use team on 1300 242 686 or via an email to planningscheme@chrc.qld.gov.au.

  • Get your copy of the Public Consultation Summary Report (Part 1)

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    This Public Consultation Report (Part 1) has been prepared by Central Highlands Regional Council (council) to:

    1. Summarise the activities and outcomes of the public consultation of the Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation) that took place from 10 February 2023 to 28 April 2023.
    2. Outline the matters raised in all submissions for the Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation).


    This report will inform the deliberations within and between Central Highlands Regional Council (council) and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure Local Government and Planning (DSDILGP) regarding the appropriate consideration of and response to the key matters raised in all submissions. Once these deliberations are completed, council will draft and display the Public Consultation Report (Part 2). Part 2 will include a summary of all revisions to the amendment that have been proposed in response to the submissions received.


    In addition to this, any person that has lodged a submission will also receive a more personalised response which responds to the key issues raised by that submitter.


    Download a copy now! - Public Consultation Report (Part 1)

  • Update on carbon farming projects

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    Council has made a number of enquiries to carbon farming companies and state and federal governments to determine whether the proposed Tourism and Ecotourism precincts should prevent carbon projects (i.e. what is the reasoning, what evidentiary support is there, what are current policies and guidelines saying).

    As these are private entities, it is not appropriate for council to respond on their behalf. Additionally, there are a variety of types of carbon farming projects available and organisations can apply different levels of restrictions or limitations around contracts so what may be correct for one organisation may not apply to another. If you are concerned and wish to involve council in your discussion with the carbon farming entities, council would happily avail themselves.

    The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) is an Australian Government body responsible for accelerating carbon abatement for Australia through the administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme, Renewable Energy Target and the Emissions Reduction Fund. The Australian Government purchases lowest cost abatement (in the form of Australian carbon credit units) via the Emissions Reduction Fund, from a wide range of sources such as carbon farming projects.

    CER has provided the following information and has confirmed that council may make it publicly available.

    "There is nothing specifically that prevents projects from being undertaken in an ecotourism precinct. All proposed projects must meet the requirements of the method, such as land eligibility (section 9 of the method) in order to be declared. For sequestration projects such as soil carbon projects, there are also considerations to be made in terms of permanence obligations. When deciding whether to undertake a project, the proponent can choose a permanence period of either 25 or 100 years. Once the permanence period is nominated, it cannot be varied. If the project proponent then cannot meet these obligations for whatever reasons, the project may be revoked and they may be subject to ACCU surrender or Carbon Maintenance Obligation as a result.

    That being said, it is a private business decision to register a carbon project or to purchase a property with an existing carbon project and the Clean Energy Regulator does not oversee the standards of Carbon Service Providers.

    The Carbon Market Institute may be of more assistance to help understand how and why carbon service providers choose their risk profile."

    Additional information is available from https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/. To find out more information about Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) eligibility criteria they may like to complete the eligibility questionnaire, email enquiries@cleanenergyregulator.gov.au, or call the CER contact centre on 1300 553 542

  • Consultation Period has closed (28 April 2023)

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    The formal public consultation period for the Draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation) closed on 28 April 2023.

    Over the next couple months council:

    • will consider every submission to the proposed amendment;
    • may make changes to the proposed amendment in response to the properly made submissions;
    • will advise each submitter, in writing, how their submission was considered and, if appropriate, incorporated into the amendment;
    • will publish the results of the public consultation process on this page.
  • Haven't been able to make it to one of the sessions? Want to know what was discussed?

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    Council officers have compiled a list of matters raised by landowners during the consultation sessions, conversations and correspondence. Each of these matters are addressed in the document below. Please note that is an evolving document which will be updated as new enquiries and/or information arise. This version was last updated on 6 April 2023.

    Summary of matters raised during the public consultation period of the draft Major Planning Scheme Amendment No. 7 (Business Improvement and Innovation) - Last updated 6 April 2023

  • The Public Notification period has been extended to 28 April 2023

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    Council has received reports that some rural landholders have experienced delays of up to two weeks in receiving mail through Australia Post. Additionally, council has received several requests to extend the timeframe to allow rural landholders additional time to consider the proposed amendment and prepare a submission (if they wish to).

    In response, the Public Notification period has been extended by 4 weeks to 28 April 2023. There will be no further extensions to this public notification period.

  • Seeking further information about the proposed Tourism and Ecotourism Precincts?

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    As we receive questions about these precincts, we are updating the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page with the more common enquiries. Keep an eye out for updates.

    If you have received a letter in the mail regarding the precincts, a further letter will be sent out to you in the next few days with some of this additional information.

    Alternatively, we have also prepared an information sheet with some of the most Frequently Asked Questions about the proposed precincts.

    As always, if you have any questions or want a private appointment, contact the Strategic Land Use team on 1300 242 686 or via planningscheme@chrc.qld.gov.au

  • Have Your Say

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    Make a submission through Central Highlands Regional Council's eplan here.



Page last updated: 18 Dec 2023, 01:51 PM