The block in section
Landscaping in Brisbane: the rules, from the kerb to the back fence
Picture a sloping Brisbane block cut through from the street to the house. Five things on it bring a garden job up against a rule: who may build it, the walls and structures, the pool fence, the big tree and the weed in the corner. This guide takes them one at a time, and says whose rule each one is.
A guide to landscaping rules in Queensland and Brisbane, published by Dotto from the official sources listed at the foot of each page: the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), the Building Regulation 2021, Brisbane City Council and Business Queensland.
The five places on the block
Five guides, one for each mark on the drawing
- A01When landscaping needs a QBCC licence
In Queensland, the QBCC says individuals and companies need a QBCC licence to contract for building work valued over $3,300. Decks, fences, pergolas and retaining walls “of a height that do not require an engineering certification under a local law” are all named in one licence class, structural landscaping.
- B02Retaining walls and garden structures in Queensland
The Building Regulation 2021 has a provision for retaining walls, other than one that forms part of a regulated pool’s fencing, that turns on three conditions, and all three must hold together: no surcharge loading over the wall’s zone of influence; the wall and the fill or cut it retains total no more than 1m, with the wall’s height measured from the finished ground level; and the wall stands at least 1.5m from a building or another retaining wall.
- C03Pool safety barriers in Queensland
Queensland’s pool safety laws apply to a portable pool or spa that can hold at least 300mm of water, and to small inflatable pools that can too.
- D04Protected trees and vegetation in Brisbane
Under Brisbane City Council’s local law, interfering with protected vegetation without permission is an offence, even when it grows on your own property.
- E05Restricted and invasive plants in Queensland
Queensland’s Biosecurity Act 2014 gives every person in the state a general biosecurity obligation: not to spread a pest, disease or contaminant.
Rule-makers
Who sets each rule on the block
A garden job in Brisbane answers to more than one rule-maker. Some rules are Queensland law, some are a Queensland regulator’s guidance, and the tree rules are Brisbane City Council’s own. Each guide says which kind of rule it is quoting, because a tip and a law are not the same thing.
| On the block | Whose rule | Kind of rule |
|---|---|---|
| Who may contract for the work | The QBCC’s licensing, across Queensland | A licence the law requires |
| Retaining walls, fences, cut and fill, small structures | Queensland’s Building Regulation 2021 | Regulation |
| The pool barrier | The state government’s pool safety laws, which apply throughout Queensland | Law, with the QBCC’s tips beside it |
| Protected trees and vegetation | Brisbane City Council’s Natural Assets Local Law 2003 | The council’s local law |
| Weeds and invasive plants | Queensland’s Biosecurity Act 2014 | Law |
Method
Quoted where the words matter
Where a rule turns on its exact words, such as a height, a distance or a dollar figure, the guides quote those words in quotation marks rather than retelling them, and say plainly where a list is shortened.
Every guide opens with the answer to its own question, then goes through the detail in the order a homeowner meets it: what counts, who must do what, and the rule-maker’s own page to read next. Start with the mark on the block that matches the job you are planning, and follow the letters from there.