A residential driveway can be caught by three different documents at once, and they do not agree. Designing to the wrong one is one of the more common ways a drawing gets knocked back.
The document that governs is whichever one the approval for that property names. Everything else is context.
The three documents
| Document | What it is | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| QDC NMP 1.1 | Queensland Development Code, non-mandatory part | The state-level reference. Used when nothing more specific applies |
| AS/NZS 2890.1 | Australian/NZ standard for off-street parking | When an approval condition or planning scheme cites it |
| Council standard drawing | Your local government's own requirement | Governs the crossover, and often the driveway too |
These are not ranked. A council standard drawing is not a lesser document than a state code — for the strip of concrete it covers, it is the one that decides.
Start with the approval conditions
Before designing anything, read the conditions attached to the approval for the specific property. They will usually name a document, a drawing number, or both.
If the conditions name AS 2890.1, work from a current copy of the standard — it is not a free document, its provisions change between editions, and the edition matters.
If they name a council standard drawing, get that drawing. Brisbane, for example, publishes its own gradient limits that differ from the state code.
When they disagree, design to the tighter
Where two documents both apply and set different figures, the safe position is the tighter of the two. A profile that satisfies the stricter number satisfies both; the reverse is not true.
What to put on the drawing
Whichever governs, state the numbers explicitly so a reviewer can check them without scaling anything off the page:
- Which document and edition the design is to
- Boundary RL and finished garage slab RL
- Each zone's length and gradient as a ratio
- The location and length of every transition
More on the state code in what the QDC actually says, and the overall picture in driveway gradients in Queensland.
Disclaimer
General information, not advice, and not a substitute for reading the documents themselves. This article describes what AS/NZS 2890.1 covers but does not reproduce any part of it — it is copyright to Standards Australia and must be obtained from them. Approval conditions, planning schemes and council standards vary by property and change over time. Confirm what applies with the relevant council or a qualified certifier.
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