10 November 2025
The release of the Queensland Government’s new guidance document ‘Supporting agritourism through Local Government planning schemes: Guidance for local government’, marks an important milestone for farmers and regional tourism across the state.
Developed in consultation with Agritourism Queensland Inc (AQ) and the Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF), this guidance is designed to assist local governments in updating their planning schemes to better accommodate legitimate agritourism opportunities.
AQ acknowledges the collaborative effort that has helped bring this guidance into existence, and we are pleased to see planning reform begin to recognise the diversification opportunities for farming enterprises. As with any first-step policy tool, there are aspects we look forward to refining to build on this promising start. Establishing viable operational levels for accepted agritourism activities on working farms will be the key to effective implementation of planning scheme changes for industry.
“Farmers who are opening their gates and sharing their produce and experiences deserve regulatory frameworks that recognise agritourism as a part of the farming business,” said AQ President Kay Tommerup. “We look forward to working with state and local government to support implementation of changes that recognise agritourism as an ancillary use for our farmers, reduce red tape and costly development applications, and encourage responsible growth and experience development within our industry.”
Earlier this year, AQ made a submission to the Government’s long-term tourism strategy Destination 2045 and is pleased with the inclusion of agritourism in that plan’s priorities. The new guidance aligns with the strategy’s objective of unlocking regional tourism opportunities and supporting farm-based enterprise.
The guidance aims to:
- Provide definitions of agritourism-related uses to help clarify planning scheme language.
- Encourage councils to adopt streamlined assessment processes for low impact agritourism ventures.
- Support integration of agritourism into strategic frameworks for local planning and land use.
AQ notes that success will depend on consistent implementation across local government areas and ongoing review of how the guidance performs in practice. We encourage councils and farmers to actively engage with the new framework, and we stand ready to work with them to ensure it translates into improved outcomes on the ground.
-ENDS-
To speak with Agritourism Queensland please contact:
Rebecca Donohoe
Executive Officer
admin@agritourismqueensland.au
0476 246 449