Sunshine Coast Council is preparing a new planning scheme to replace the current one.

Between 15 July and 19 September 2025, Council invited the community to explore the Proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme and share their feedback.

The formal consultation program was one of Council’s largest listening exercises undertaken to date:

• around 1 in 5 residents visited Council’s Have your Say website to find out more about the proposed planning scheme
• more than 2,200 people attended engagement events, including 23 information sessions and 3 community forums
• around 800 people had their questions answered by dropping in to Sunshine Coast City Hall, or by phone or email.

Council received around 4,600 formal submissions on the proposed planning scheme.

We heard from a broad cross-section of our community - with interests ranging from individual properties to shaping neighbourhoods and planning for the whole region. Feedback received will play a critical role in ensuring that the planning scheme reflects the aspirations and priorities of the people who call this region home.

The next step in the plan-making process is for Council to review and respond to the issues raised in submissions. This step will help Council determine what changes are required in response to community feedback.

Given the volume of feedback received, the review process will take time to ensure every submission is properly considered and is expected to continue well into 2026.

Council is committed to keeping the community informed.

Once the post-consultation review is complete, everyone who made a submission will be notified of the outcome and receive a copy of a Consultation Report. This report will summarise the feedback received and explain how Council has responded to the issues raised.

Even if you didn’t make a submission, you can still stay informed about key stages for the proposed planning scheme by signing up for project updates.

Visit Council’s New Planning Scheme Project webpage for further information and to learn more about the steps in preparing a new planning scheme.

Information available during the consultation period

Click on the links below to explore the information that was shared during the formal consultation period to help the community understand the details of the proposed planning scheme.

Community feedback received during preliminary consultation undertaken in 2022 helped to inform the preparation of the proposed planning scheme. We heard you. Protecting our natural environment, maintaining our unique character and addressing public transport, traffic and parking, improving development outcomes and housing affordability are all important.

Scroll through and click on the links to find out more.

The proposed planning scheme includes many new and updated measures to guide development decisions and, over time, will help build the future we envisioned together.

Read the What’s new information sheet for more detail on what’s staying the same and key changes in the proposed planning scheme.