In November 1945, Council introduced a new system for recording building approvals. Under this system, building approval records for a property were kept together on a single record. A Survey and Record of Land Master Card was created for each property for which a development or building application was received. 

This card-based system was superseded by a computer-based system in May 1982. 

The cards are held by the City Archives and are open to public access. A digitised set of the microfilmed cards is available through the City Archives platform. To search enter an address into the search field.

Important search tips

Street types need to be entered in abbreviated form e.g. St, Ave, Rd - ie 123 Fake St. If the house number does not appear, try just searching the street without a number ie Fake St. Be aware of fuzzy search as it may give slightly skewed results.

Note: See the FAQs below for additional guidance on streets alphabetically from Davies Road to Dickenson Street. 

Some addresses are in multiple "items" due to a glitch in the system. Make sure you search your address and filter to Exact Phrase Match like below to ensure you capture all cards.

Important Information About Use of These Records 

These records contain general historic information only and do not constitute certified building information. As a result, no guarantee is given by Council as to the accuracy or completeness of these records in relation to a property’s building approvals and they should not be relied upon as formal professional or Council advice.  For certified building approval information, a formal Building Records search and/or Development Approval must be obtained through Council’s official process. This will also include applications made after the cards finished in May 1982.           

Why is there no card for my address? 

Can I obtain copies of building plans referenced on the cards? 

Understanding the Cards 

Unfortunately, no existing records remain that formally define the building-related terms used on the cards. Many terms reflect long‑standing practices and staff knowledge that was passed on verbally.

The explanations provided below represent interpretations of the most commonly used building approval terms, based on the City Archivist’s research. This includes analysis of how terms were used across the records and patterns observed over time. 

Interpretation of Key Building Record Approval Terms  

Building approval terms generally start with DWG (dwelling) and then the type of application noted as a second term. Multi Dwellings are identified first by the term MDA and then the type of application.

More Information: 

Real Property Description (RPD) 

In this period RPD were generally listed under the old format that was changed in the 1970s. The land use survey maps may be useful in determining exactly which parcel of land they refer to. Please note that the Land Use Survey Maps have been tagged to their suburb, so we recommend searching your suburb directly and finding it in the suburb hub. For information on suburb hubs, see here.

Street Numbers 

Not always given and can change over time. The Real Property Description (RPD) is the legal definition of the property. Street number (we suspect as of 1982 when the system finished) may also be recorded in the box labelled UPRN. See diagram above for visual.

P files 

These appear as numbers beginning with a P on the building cards. They are old correspondence file numbers. Most of these files are no longer held due to retention requirements in this period.  Some later from 1965 files may exist - contact City Archives for advice.

Development Applications 

These were required when the use of a property changed such as licensed boarding houses or erection of multiple dwellings. The approvals for these are recorded in the Registration Board Minutes which can be searched by the year and minute number noted on the card.

Registration Board Minutes  

The Registration Board existed between 1940 and 1995 and had delegated authority for Council to approve matters relating to land subdivision, use and licensing. These can be searched on the platform. We generally recommend manually finding the relevant minute book and scrolling to find the number. Searching the minute number inside the volume can work, but it is not completely reliable due to imperfections in the .pdf to text process. Results are guaranteed if you do a manual lookup.

For example on the card pictured above, if we wished to find the first approval, we would search on the site, "registration board minutes 1961", find the volume for January, and scroll to minute #52. Make sure to use the second date in the columns on the card to determine the volume to look inside - as this is the date of the meeting. The first date on the card is the date the request was made to Council and is irrelevant for the search.

Rate Assessment Number 

Not always listed on the card. The number reflects the rate number in that edition of rates. For example, a card with a first application of 1953, the rate assessment number will be accurate for the 1950-1955 set of rates. Rate Assessment numbers changed over time due to subdivisions and changes in the way rates were tracked. Rate registers dating to c1951 are held by Queensland State Archives. Later ones by the City Archives.

Corner Blocks & Through Blocks

Buildings that front two or more streets generally have cards for both.  One card usually has all the detailed application information on it and the other just a line through the description.  You may need to search on both addresses to find both cards. You can determine the alternate address on a block by searching the known address on Council's Development.i page. It will appear in the Property Details bar on the left side after a search.