Permits & Licenses

Council's Environmental Services Department licences the following accommodation premises under its local laws:

• Rental accommodation with shared facilities such as a bathroom or kitchen
• Caravan parks
• Bed and breakfast, farm-stay premises (please note that a food licence is also needed when preparing food for guests.)

An application for a caravan park licence and all other accommodation permits must be submitted with the prescribed fee and all required supportive documentation.

An application for a caravan park licence and all other accommodation permits must be submitted with the prescribed fee and all required supportive documentation.

Application for Operation of a Camping Ground, Caravan Park or Shared Facilities Accommodation

If you are starting a new business, you should contact the following Council areas:

• Building and Planning, phone 1300 763 903
• Council's Trade Waste Officer, phone 0447 794 153

Council's Regulatory Services department regulates certain activities conducted on council-controlled areas and roads including outdoor dining, goods on footpaths, signs and busking.

To carry out an activity on council-controlled footpaths, a permit application must be completed and submitted with a plan of the proposed area, outlining the location and equipment to be used.

Application for Footpath Dining

Application General Activities (Busking, Fundraising, Public Education and Information Displays)

A current certificate of public liability insured to the value of at least $20,000,000 must also be submitted with the application, nominating Cassowary Coast Regional Council as an insured party.

All outdoor dining permit holders are responsible for the following:

• Activities must be carried out in accordance with Council's Local Law No 4 (Local Government Controlled Areas and Roads) 2022.
• The permit holder must maintain public liability insurance to the value of $20,000,000 with the Council nominated on the policy as an interested party.
• The footpath area must be kept in a clean and tidy condition by the permit holder at all times to the satisfaction of Council's authorised officers.
• The permit holder must not cause an unreasonable nuisance or obstruction to the public or other businesses.

Council's Local Law requires that a permit is obtained for the display or sale of goods on a footpath/road area.  Such goods range from shoes and clothing racks and fruit and vegetables to motor vehicles.  Under Council's Local Law such goods may be removed by Council at the owner's expense if a permit is not in place.

Permit to Keep Animals

Certain animals are restricted or prohibited in areas zoned other than rural.

In certain circumstances approval may be given to residents to keep restricted animals or numbers of animals.

An application for a permit to keep animals must be submitted to Council with the prescribed fees and supportive documentation. Please contact Council's Customer Service on 1300 763 903 for the required application form or visit one of our customer service offices at:

• Innisfail Shire Hall, 70 Rankin Street
• Tully Civic Centre, 38-40 Bryant Street
• Cardwell Library, Balliol Street

Environmentally-relevant activities (ERAs) are industrial, intensive agricultural or resource activities that have potential environmental risks.

Council licenses the following ERAs:

• Poultry farming (farming more than 1000 birds)
• Asphalt manufacturing
• Chemical storage (storing 10m3 or more of chemicals of class 3 (PGI, PGII, PGIII flammable liquids or C1 or C2 combustible liquids)
• Plastic product manufacturing (50t or more of plastic product)
• Abrasive blasting
• Boiler making or engineering (producing 200t or more)
• Metal forming (forming more than 10000t or more in a year)
• Motor vehicle workshop (does not include maintaining a fleet of <10 vehicles, or a mobile or temporary workshop activity)
• Printing (200t or more a year)
• Surface coating
• Concrete batching (producing 200t or more of concrete or concrete products in a year by mixing with sand, rock, aggregate or other similar materials)
• Wooden and laminated product manufacturing
• Boat maintenance or repair
• Waste incineration or thermal treatment

Environmentally-relevant activities excluding mining and petroleum activities must have development approval and a registration certificate. (Development approval is not required in cases where a code of environmental compliance exists for the particular ERA or certain aspects of the ERA.)

All operators of ERAs, other than mining or petroleum activities, must be registered operators.

A registration certificate is required for all ERAs on the list above. The application fee is an annual licence fee as stated in the current schedule of charges for each activity. This occurs once a year (annual return) for existing ERAs.

If you are starting a new business, please contact the following Council sections:

• Building and Planning, phone 07 4030 2222
• Trade Waste, phone 0447 794 153
• Environmental Services, phone 07 4030 2264

To make an application, please submit the form below with the prescribed fee and any required supporting documentation.

• Registration Certificate for an Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA)

The application forms below are required for ERAs needing development approval without town planning consent:

• IDAS Form 1 – Application Details
• IDAS Form 8 – Environmentally Relevant Activity

ERA businesses must submit a "Surrender of an Environmental Authority Application Form" to Council within 10 business days of closing a business.

• Surrender of an Environmental Authority Application Form

For more information on ERAs visit:

Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Protection

Following the repeal of the Dangerous Goods Safety Management Act and Regulation 2001, Council's Environmental Services section no longer licences premises for the storage of flammable and combustible liquids.

All enquires regarding storage and handling of these materials should be directed to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

Cassowary Coast Regional Council Subordinate Local Law No 4 (Local Government Controlled Areas and Roads) 2022 identifies five areas throughout the region that are available for stationary vending.  Potential stationary vendors or mobile road side vendors are required to obtain a permit through Council’s Regulatory Services department.

To apply for a mobile road side or stationary vending permit an application for a general activities permit must be completed and submitted to Council with the relevant fee.

• Application General Activities (Mobile Roadside Vending & Stationary Vending)

A current certificate of public liability, insured to the value of at least $20,000,000 and nominating Cassowary Coast Regional Council as an insured party, must also be submitted.

If you are setting up on a state-controlled main road, you need to seek permission from the Queensland Department of Main Roads. For a list of state-controlled roads in our region, please visit our State Government Roads page.

Council licenses higher risk personal appearance activities including tattooing, body piercing and other activities involving skin penetration.  

To apply for a licence an Application to Carry Out a Business Providing Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services must be submitted with the appropriate fee:

Application to Carry Out a Business Providing Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services

If you are taking over an existing premises, applicants may apply for a transfer of the licence by submitting the same approved form with the appropriate fee.

For more information, applicants are encouraged to read the following Queensland Health publication:

Public Health: What Businesses Need to Know