South East Queensland Livestock Rules, by Council

Queensland has no single state-wide bird-count default — the state-wide QLD article covers what the state actually sets (biosecurity entity registration, animal welfare standards), but the actual number of chickens or livestock you can keep comes down to your own council's local law. This page collects what each South East Queensland council's own published policy actually says, sourced directly from each council wherever possible. Looking for a council outside the South East corner? See the Regional Queensland livestock rules by council page.

Brisbane City Council

Brisbane's Animals Local Law 2017 permits up to 6 poultry on residential blocks under 800m², rising to 20 poultry on blocks over 800m² — but unlike most councils, a free livestock permit is required regardless of flock size, even for a single chicken. Roosters are not permitted in residential areas at all, only on acreage. Poultry enclosures must sit at least 1m from any dividing fence. For horses, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, deer, alpacas and similar, the same livestock permit system applies in residential zones — but no permit is needed at all if the property is in a rural or rural residential zone.

Sources: Brisbane City Council — Other Pets and Livestock; Livestock and Horses

City of Gold Coast

Gold Coast permits poultry and birds without approval provided the property doesn't exceed the allowed number for its size (mirroring Brisbane's 6-under-800m²/20-over-800m² split is typical, though council notes specific numbers vary by zoning). For livestock (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, camels, goats, deer, llamas and similar), properties of 4,000m² or more have no specific numeric cap — instead, owners must comply with minimum standards covering nuisance, health and environmental impact rather than a fixed number.

Sources: City of Gold Coast — Bird & Poultry Requirements & Permits; Livestock Requirements & Permits

Sunshine Coast Regional Council

Sunshine Coast's Subordinate Local Law No 2 (Animal Management) 2011 requires approval to keep more than 6 poultry on an urban lot under 800m², or more than 20 poultry on a lot 800m² or larger. Separately, any rooster, guinea fowl or peacock at all requires a permit on land under roughly 8,000m² (specifically, under 8,001m²) — a stricter, all-or-nothing approach to these species compared to councils that just set a lower number for them.

Source: Sunshine Coast Regional Council — Keeping Other Animals and Birds

Moreton Bay Regional Council

Moreton Bay uses a distinctive ratio-based stocking system rather than a flat number per property: 1 animal per 4,000m² for horses, ponies, cattle, alpacas, llamas and camels; 1 animal per 1,000m² for sheep and goats. All stock counts cumulatively — a 9,000m² property, for example, could hold 1 cow, 1 horse and 1 sheep, or 2 horses and 1 goat, or 1 horse and 5 sheep. Livestock owners must comply with Biosecurity Act 2014 identification and movement-record requirements, and provide a proper enclosure with distinguishing brand, bolus, ear tag or microchip.

Poultry (chickens) have no fixed maximum — an approval is only required once you keep more than 20. Geese, turkeys, guinea fowl and similar birds follow a much stricter, land-based rule: none permitted at all without approval on properties up to 20,000m², rising to 10 permitted only once the property reaches 20,001m² or more.

Sources: Moreton Bay Regional Council — Stock: How Many Can I Have? (PDF); Poultry: How Many Can I Have? (PDF)

City of Ipswich

Ipswich ties bird numbers to minimum land area rather than a simple property-size tier: 1–2 birds need no minimum land size; 1–2 poultry needs at least 350m²; 3–12 birds/poultry/pigeons need 700m²; 13–25 need 1,000m²; 25 or more requires a permit regardless of land size. Enclosures must sit at least 1m from a boundary fence, 5m from any road, and 10–15m from a dwelling depending on how many birds are kept.

For livestock (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, camels, goats, deer, llamas and similar), the property must be zoned rural and at least 4,000m² to keep stock without a permit, with a minimum of 800m² of unencumbered land per animal. A permit is required for stock on residential-zoned land 2,000m² or more, or on rural land between 2,000–4,000m² (the same threshold applies to pigs specifically).

Sources: City of Ipswich — Birds, Poultry and Pigeons; Livestock

Logan City Council

Logan's sheep and goats table is precise: zero without approval on land up to 2,000m²; 1 animal permitted on 2,001–4,000m² (no approval pathway to exceed this at that size); on land 4,001–40,000m², 1 animal per 4,000m² without approval, or up to 20 animals at a higher density with an animal-keeping approval. For chickens and roosters, enclosures must sit at least 90cm from the boundary, at least 10m from a neighbouring dwelling (poultry) or 30m for roosters and peafowl specifically, with a minimum of 1m² of space per bird.

Sources: Logan City Council — Sheep and Goats; Chickens and Roosters

Redland City Council

Redland tiers poultry clearly by property size: properties under 500m² can't keep poultry at all; 500–2,000m² allows up to 6 hens, ducks or drakes (no geese, turkeys, roosters, ostriches, emus, peacocks or guinea fowl); 2,001–4,000m² allows up to 12 hens, ducks or drakes plus geese and turkeys (still no roosters, ostriches, emus, peacocks or guinea fowl); over 4,000m² has no restrictions on poultry at all. Owners of 100 or more birds raised for eggs or meat must register under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

Sources: Redland City Council — Birds and Other Pet Animals; Keeping Poultry in the Redlands (PDF)

Scenic Rim Regional Council

Scenic Rim regulates animals through its Planning Scheme as much as local law, which makes it structurally different from most councils on this page. Under the Scheme, "domestic animals" are defined as fewer than 100 poultry in total, plus cats, dogs, caged birds and small rodents — this definition specifically excludes ducks, geese, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, cattle, alpacas, llamas, camels and donkeys entirely, meaning these always fall under separate animal husbandry or intensive animal industry provisions rather than the simpler domestic-pet pathway. An annual licence is required for more than 20 poultry on small lots. In Rural Zones, keeping up to 999 poultry may qualify under the Intensive Animal Industry Code (potentially still needing planning approval depending on scale), while 1,000 birds or more always requires planning approval.

Sources: Scenic Rim Regional Council — Pets and Animals Fact Sheet (PDF); Keeping of Poultry Fact Sheet (PDF)

Lockyer Valley Regional Council

Lockyer Valley's Subordinate Local Law No. 2 requires approval for more than 20 poultry on any allotment. Roosters aren't permitted under 10,000m², and pigs aren't permitted at all under 40,000m² — a high bar. For horses, deer, donkeys, cattle, bison, camels, alpacas, llamas, sheep and goats, the council splits them into "large" and "small" categories: none are permitted under 4,000m²; on 4,000–20,000m², up to 1 large animal (horse/deer/donkey/cattle/bison/camel) or 2 small animals (sheep/goat/alpaca/llama) or 1 of each; on 20,000–40,000m², this doubles to 2 large or 4 small or 2 of each.

Source: Lockyer Valley Regional Council — Subordinate Local Law No. 2 (PDF)

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