The line that matters is the property boundary
Almost every question about approval comes down to one thing: is the surface you want marked on your land, or is it a public road.
On your own land, including car parks, internal estate roads, industrial estate roadways, resort and village roads and body corporate common property, you generally arrange marking yourself. It still has to be done sensibly and to the relevant standards, but you are not seeking approval from the road authority to paint your own car park.
On a public road, marking is controlled by the road authority. On the Sunshine Coast that is Sunshine Coast Council or Noosa Council for local roads, and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads for state controlled roads. Painting on a public road without authority is not something a property owner or a contractor can arrange privately.
The cases that catch people out
The kerb outside your business. Almost always public road reserve, including the footpath. Yellow no-standing lines, loading zone marking and parking restrictions there are council matters.
The crossover. The driveway between the kerb and your boundary sits in road reserve even though it serves only your property.
A drop off zone at a school. The school side is generally school land. The road side is council. Both may need work and they go through different channels.
New subdivision roads. Built privately, handed to council. The marking has to satisfy the council specification before handover, so the requirement should be confirmed with council or the project engineer before anything is painted.
Pedestrian crossings. A marked crossing on a public road is a traffic control device requiring approval. Painting stripes on a road because it seems helpful is not something to do privately.
Body corporate common property. Private, so the body corporate decides, but that usually means committee approval and sometimes a general meeting resolution before work proceeds.
Private does not mean unregulated
Marking your own site is your decision, but two things still apply.
First, if the marking uses road-type devices, it should follow the conventions people already understand. A stop bar means stop, a give way triangle means give way, and a chevron means keep out. Inventing local meanings for standard devices creates confusion in exactly the moment where confusion is dangerous. AS 1742 covers traffic control devices and is the usual reference.
Second, your general duty of care does not stop at the boundary. A car park marked so that vehicles and pedestrians conflict is a hazard you have created, whether or not any approval was needed.
Where a car park meets the road
The exit is the point where the two systems meet, and it is worth attention.
Sight lines matter, and hatching or keep-clear marking inside your property near the exit is a common and sensible way to preserve them. Queuing matters too, since a car park that backs up onto a public road is a problem that belongs to you even though the queue is on the council's asphalt. And any marking that continues across the boundary onto the road reserve needs the road authority.
If your exit arrangement is causing problems, that is a conversation with council rather than a paint job.
Traffic management during the work
Separate from approval to mark, there is the question of managing the work zone. Any work affecting a road, including works on private land that requires a truck to occupy part of the road, generally needs appropriate traffic management, and on public roads that can mean a formal plan and accredited traffic controllers.
Confirm who is arranging it, because it is one of the most commonly excluded items in a quote and one of the most expensive to add late.
Check the current requirements before you rely on this
This page describes approval arrangements in general terms as at September 2026. Requirements differ between authorities and change over time, and whether a particular surface is road reserve is a question of fact for your property.
For local roads the authorities are Sunshine Coast Council at sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and Noosa Council at noosa.qld.gov.au. For state controlled roads it is the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads at tmr.qld.gov.au. For subdivision work being handed over, confirm the marking specification with the council or the project engineer before work starts.
We are not the road authority, traffic engineers or town planners. For what applies to a specific road or boundary, contact the relevant council or authority.