Assessment fees

Under the Economic Development Act 2012, the Minister for Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has set fees and charges to recover the cost of considering and processing Priority Development Area (PDA) development applications and making and amending development instruments.

EDQ has launched a simplified and more consistent fee schedule from 1 July 2026 to further remove red tape for industry, while continuing to invest in its improved service offer for customers.

The change will support industry to capitalise on an increase in development opportunities coming from a range of EDQ initiatives, such as the Queensland Government’s Land Activation Program, the $2.4 billion Infrastructure Activation Fund and the expansion of the Priority Development Area program.

The new fee structure will deliver further benefits for industry, including the removing of Part B fees to provide a simpler and more transparent fee structure, as well as enable a shift to automated fee calculations for greater certainty for applicants. This will be the first time EDQ has reviewed the fees in 13 years.

Comparatively, EDQ’s fees will remain below the South East Queensland Council median. To ensure this fee level is not exceeded, an increase of 10% across EDQ’s fee structure is being applied and will continue to be heavily subsidised.

The 2026/27 development assessment fees and charges schedule applies to PDA development applications lodged to EDQ from 1 July 2026.

The applicable assessment fee for a particular application must be confirmed by an EDQ Development Assessment officer prior to payment.

Delegations

Where responsibility for processing and deciding a PDA development application has been delegated to another entity (i.e. a local government) the other entity is responsible for setting the application fees. For information about the appropriate fee contact the relevant entity.

*The Queensland Government Indexation Policy requires departments and statutory bodies to regularly review their fees and charges to ensure they remain appropriate and that the cost structure underlying the amount of the fee or charge remains accurate and efficient. To maintain the value of the fees and charges when a comprehensive review is not conducted, the policy provides for departments and statutory bodies to apply the government indexation rate.