Logan City Council · orientation, not planning advice
Does your sign need approval in Logan?
Logan sits between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and a lot of its commerce faces the roads that join them: motorway-adjacent business parks at Springwood and Underwood, established centres at Logan Central and Beenleigh, and new estates filling in around Yarrabilba and Flagstone. Main-road visibility is the whole reason many Logan businesses buy signage — and main-road signage is exactly the kind the council looks at hardest.
In one paragraph
Logan City Council regulates temporary signs and advertisements in public places: a temporary sign should not exceed 2 metres high by 1.2 metres wide, a permit is available where the sign face does not exceed 2.4 square metres, and applying takes a form, the fee and proof of public liability insurance. Illegal signs on public land can be removed without notice and fined. A permanent sign on your own building is a separate question for the council’s planning team.
Rules change and this page is general orientation only — confirm with your council before you order anything.
Last reviewed September 2026. Rules change and this page is general orientation only — confirm with Logan City Council before you order anything.
Is your sign accepted development?
The first question, and the cheapest one
In Queensland, smaller unlit business signage is often accepted development under the council's planning scheme — no application needed — while larger, illuminated or prominent signs are assessable. The thresholds depend on size, position, zone and illumination. A modest fascia sign on a suburban shop often fits; a tall pylon sign facing the motorway, or anything animated, usually does not.
Search Logan City Council's website for “advertising device” or “signage”, or call the council and ask directly: “Is this sign accepted development at this address, or does it need approval?” Have the dimensions, the mounting height and whether it is lit ready before you call.
Once you know what you can display, start from the shopfront signage page — measured on site, then quoted.
The signs this applies to
Made in QLD, proofed before they run
What tends to trigger approval here
- Freestanding and pylon signs. Height and size on a main-road frontage is the classic assessable sign in a council area like this, and traffic-safety rules apply on top of planning rules near motorway ramps and major intersections.
- Building-mounted signage — fascia panels, projecting signs, illuminated boxes, fabricated letters — is the most regulated category on any premises.
- Illumination. A lit sign is a different question from an unlit one, and animated or changeable-message displays are more restricted again — particularly where commercial lots back onto housing, which in Logan is common.
- Footpath signs. An A-frame outside a Beenleigh or Logan Central shop sits on council-controlled footpath, with local-law rules about placement, clear passage and permits.
New estates and managed centres
In Logan's master-planned communities and newer shopping centres, developer design guidelines and centre management rules sit on top of what the council requires — a second approval the council will not mention because it is not theirs to give. Ask the estate or centre manager for the signage guidelines before you design anything. Heritage is a smaller factor here than in the older cities, but individual listed buildings exist, especially around Beenleigh; if yours is one, say so when you call the council.
What the application involves
If your sign is assessable, the council will want to see exactly what is proposed: dimensioned drawings, the sign's position on the building or the lot, materials and finishes, and illumination details if it is lit. Approval runs in weeks, not days — almost always longer than fabrication — so start it before you order.
Your landlord, centre manager or body corporate is a separate approval. Council sign-off is not the building owner's permission, and most commercial and industrial leases require written approval before anything is fixed to the structure.
What we can do
We make the sign, and we can supply what an application usually needs: dimensioned drawings, a scaled elevation showing the sign on the building, and the materials and finishes. Ask when you book your site measure and we will produce them as part of the quote.
For an early conversation with the council, the free add dimensions to a photo tool is often enough — photograph the frontage, draw the proposed sign on it with real measurements, and take that to the call.
If the sign needs approval, that timeline runs alongside ours rather than after it. Tell us at the site measure and we will schedule fabrication around it.
Common questions
What people ask before they order
Does a sign on a heritage building need approval?
Often it does, even where the same sign would be exempt elsewhere, because exemptions narrow or disappear on heritage items and in conservation areas. Logan City Council decides for your address, so ask it directly with the sign’s size, position and whether it is lit.
Do I need a permit for an A-frame on the footpath?
Usually yes. A footpath is council-controlled land, so an A-frame outside your shop is normally covered by a permit under Logan City Council’s own rules rather than by your own approval, with conditions on size, position and keeping the path clear. Check its website for the footpath or A-frame requirements before the sign goes out.
When does a sign approval take effect, and how long does it last?
From the date on the decision notice, with conditions, including how long you have to act on it before it lapses. That period is on the notice itself, so read it before you order; if the sign has changed from the one approved, ask the council whether the approval still stands.
Related
Last updated .