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Queensland Development Code (QDC)

The Queensland Development Code (QDC) layers Qld-specific building standards over the NCC: siting, energy, and more. Where they conflict, the QDC prevails.

By Chalkline. Last updated 25 May 2026. Verified 25 May 2026.

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The Queensland Development Code (QDC) is the document that consolidates Queensland’s building standards that sit outside, and in addition to, the NCC. It is made under the Building Act 1975 (s 13), and it is the Queensland-specific layer a builder satisfies on top of the national code.

What it is

The QDC covers Queensland matters the NCC does not, or where Queensland wants its own rule. The crucial point: where the QDC and the NCC are inconsistent, the QDC prevails (verified 2026-05-25). So you cannot satisfy a Queensland build on the NCC alone; the QDC requirements apply as well, and override the NCC where they differ.

The building certifier who assesses your building development approval checks the work against both the NCC and the applicable QDC parts.

Mandatory and Non-Mandatory Parts

The QDC is organised into numbered parts, in two kinds:

  • Mandatory Parts (MP): apply as law. Examples:
    • MP 1.1 and MP 1.2: the siting standards (setbacks, site cover, height to boundary) for single detached dwellings and associated Class 10 buildings. These are the default standards, applied unless the local government’s planning scheme sets its own.
    • MP 4.1: sustainable buildings (the Queensland energy-efficiency provisions).
  • Non-Mandatory Parts (NP): provisions a local government may choose to adopt into its planning scheme, and modify to suit local circumstances. An NP only bites if your council has adopted it.

So before relying on a QDC provision, check whether it is a mandatory part (applies everywhere) or a non-mandatory one that depends on the local planning scheme.

How it interacts with the planning scheme

QDC siting standards (MP 1.1/1.2) are the fallback: they apply unless the council planning scheme contains its own siting/setback controls, in which case the scheme’s controls apply. This is why a Queensland setback question is answered by reading the planning scheme first, then the QDC default if the scheme is silent.

For a builder

  • The NCC is not the whole code in Queensland. You build to the NCC plus the QDC, and the QDC wins where they conflict. Check the QDC parts that apply to your class of work.
  • Siting: scheme first, QDC default second. For setbacks and siting of a house, read the council planning scheme; MP 1.1/1.2 are the default only where the scheme does not set its own.
  • Confirm mandatory vs non-mandatory. A mandatory part applies statewide; a non-mandatory part only applies if your council adopted it. Do not assume an NP applies (or does not) without checking the local scheme.
  • Your certifier checks both. The building certifier assesses against the NCC and the QDC together; a design that meets the NCC but misses a QDC mandatory part will not pass.

Also known as: QDC, Qld Development Code.

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-25. Verified: 2026-05-25. Quarterly review for currency.

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