Motor vehicle workshop
General information
Operating a workshop or mobile workshop where motor vehicle mechanical or panel repairs are carried out as part of a commercial or municipal enterprise (other than on a farm or a mining tenement) or on a commercial basis is defined as ERA 28 under Schedule 1 of the Environmental Protection Regulation 1998.
These activities are level 1 ERAs and need a development permit and a registration certificate. A code of environmental compliance exists for aspects of this ERA, where administered by the department. A development permit is not required for ERA 28 where the development meets the criteria of the code.
Guidelines and policies
Where an activity is devolved to local government, you should contact the relevant Council to discuss your proposal before you lodge your application. The Brisbane City Council has developed the Operator's Environmental Guide - Pollution Solutions for Motor Service Industries (PDF)* to help operators to comply with best practice environmental management.
Where an activity is covered by the code, you are required to:
- obtain a registration certificate before commencing operations; and
- comply with the conditions of the code when operations commence.
Where an activity is not devolved and not covered by a code you should refer to the following documents when preparing your application:
Information sheet: Information for applicants for an environmentally relevant activity (ERA)
Pre-design conference service
For an activity devolved to local government, you should contact the relevant Council to discuss the proposal before you lodge your application.
For ERAs administered by the department a 'pre-design conference' service is offered for projects that may include issues requiring a high level of assessment. This service includes meeting with a departmental project manager to discuss all the information requirements to be provided with your application.
For more details, read the Pre-design conference fact sheet.
This service can be initiated by contacting the Ecoaccess Customer Service Unit on 1300 368 326 or by email at eco.access@epa.qld.gov.au or completing a Pre-design conference application form. If a pre-design conference is required to discuss your application in more detail, a departmental officer will contact you directly.
Permits and approvals
The development permit will contain conditions to ensure that industry is conducted in a way that minimises impacts on the environment.
The relevant local government must also be contacted regarding any requirements in addition to the ERA matters for the development permit.
Forms and fees
The fees for this ERA are listed in the information sheet Summary of fees - environmentally relevant activities. For devolved activities these are the maximum fees as the relevant local government may have set a lower fee. For a devolved ERA, contact the relevant local government for details of the fees that apply.
For devolved ERAs, application forms can be obtained from the relevant local government. Where a development permit is required, application forms are also available from a link under the Integrated Planning Act 1997 section of the application forms webpage.
If the administration of the ERA is not devolved, application forms can be obtained online or by contacting the department Ecoaccess Customer Service Unit on 1300 368 326.
* Requires Acrobat Reader
Last updated: 07 July 2006