Local Laws - Compliance

If a vehicle or trailer has been abandoned for more than three weeks on a roadway, Council may be able to assist in the removal of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is on a road owned by Department of Transport and Main Road, we recommend you contact the Department to remove the vehicle, on (07) 4931 1500 or email fitzroydistrict@tmr.qld.gov.au .

To confirm who owns a road (the Department or Council), please refer to the road look up on the QLD Traffic website, Road Lookup - QLDTraffic.

If the vehicle is found to be on a Council road or reserve, Council’s compliance team will attend and assess the vehicle, with the aim of impounding the vehicle or instructing the owner to remove it.

To report an abandoned vehicle, contact Council on (07) 4992 9500 with a brief description of the vehicle and its location, or lodge a complaint through the Snap, Send, Solve App.

In accordance with Banana Shire Council Local Law No. 3 (Community and Environmental Management) 2011, landowners must maintain their properties to prevent reptile harbourage and protect visual amenity. 

If you believe that a property is overgrown with vegetation that may harbour reptiles or cause a visual nuisance, you may report this to Council.

Council will attend the property to check compliance. If the property is deemed to be overgrown by the Compliance team, the owner of the property will be issued a compliance notice to rectify the issue, usually within 14 days. Failure to complete the works and therefore comply with the notice,  will result in Council issuing a secondary notice informing that Council will enter the property within the following weeks to carry out the required work. Should this occur, all accrued costs will be invoiced to the owner of the property.

Although footpaths are Council property, it is expected that the adjoining property owners mow grass on the footpath as it would be impractical for Council to maintain all the Shire's footpaths.

If you wish to advise council of an overgrown allotment, please consider using the Snap, Send, Solve app, or calling 07) 4992 9500.  

All landowners have an obligation to ensure their property does not attract or harbour reptiles or affect the visual amenity. Having an excessive amount of accumulated materials that are not kept in an orderly fashion, may cause your property to be unsightly, and therefore in breach of Banana Shire Council’s Local Law No. 3 (Community and Environmental Management) 2011. Most commonly, our Compliance team sees this in the form of:

• Vehicle parts or bodies
• Excessive building materials

Often, these items can be kept in a different style or location to ensure the visual amenity of the property is not affected.

If you have a complaint about a neighbouring property having an excess accumulation of materials, consider using the Snap, Send, Solve app, or please contact Council and complete the nuisance complaint form.

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocphephala) is a plant commonly used on agricultural land to assist in feeding cattle. However, due to the rapid growth and reproduction of the plant, it has been deemed a declared pest within the Township Zone established under Banana Shire Planning Scheme 2021.

For information on the spread and characteristics of the plant, please refer to: Leucaena (publications.qld.gov.au)

If you have a complaint about this plant in a neighbouring property, please use the Snap, Send, Solve app, or call Council on (07) 4992 9500.

Have you advised your Neighbour?

Making a minor complaint about a neighbour to Council can often do more harm than good. A little tolerance goes a long way so if possible, please discuss your concerns with your neighbour first if it is safe to do so. On most occasions your neighbour will not realise that they are causing a nuisance and will be happy to address the issue. Council's Fix it at the Fence Fact Sheet may give you further information on how to successfully resolve conflicts with your neighbour. 

The Queensland Government Ways to approach your neighbour website offers helpful advice on how to discuss your concerns with your neighbour and what steps may be taken if an agreement is unable to be reached.

Registering a Complaint with Council

Despite the best intentions, it is understood that there are instances where the involvement of a third party is essential.

To register a complaint, complete a complaint form insert link to Compliance complaint form and submit to Council.

Depending on the nature of your complaint, Council may request additional evidence to substantiate it. To expedite the resolution process, it is advisable to provide evidence such as video recordings, audio files, or diary entries.

Dispute Resolution

Council is unable to resolve certain neighbourhood disputes. For these matters, Queensland Civil & Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) is a State Government provided free mediation and facilitation service, which deals with workplace, family, neighbourhood, commercial, organisational, environmental and multi-party disputes.