A park activity is commercial if it involves the exchange of goods or services for payment or another consideration or is carried out for marketing, promotional or other commercial reasons.
To conduct any commercial activity in a city park, including activities run by community or not-for-profit organisations to raise funds, you must apply for a permit.
Commercial use activities include:
- playgroups or bush kindergartens
- school holiday programs or workshops
- guided tours
- private sport coaching or high-performance training
- pop-up picnics.
Any individual or organisation may apply to conduct commercial activities within our parks. Our aim is to balance community access with responsible, well-managed commercial use.
Guidelines for commercial activities in parks
We assess each application against specific criteria and terms and conditions of use apply to every approval.
The specific criteria include:
- site impact and suitability
- professionalism and capability
- community contribution and social benefit
- risk management and safety processes.
For details, please read our Commercial use of Parks Application Guide.
Why you need approval
Under Local Law 9 (Parks and Reserves) 2008, we regulate commercial operations on public parks and open space. We do this to maximise benefits to locals and tourists and protect the public’s health, safety and amenity.
Unauthorised commercial activities may result in fines of up to $806 or other enforcement actions including compliance notices, stop orders and directions to stop activity.
Before you apply
Prepare your documentation. With every application you must submit:
- public liability insurance certificate of currency for at least $20 million
- relevant qualification or certifications
- CPR certification
- first aid certificate
- risk management plan
- site plan specific to the park.
We recommend you check What's On Gold Coast and My Neighbourhood for any scheduled events, Council projects or other activities that may clash with your proposed date and location.
Fees
A fee is not required at the time of application. Once your application is approved, you will be notified of the fee and issued a notice to pay with an associated application fee. Fees are non-refundable.
Apply for commercial activities in a park
Apply online using the button below. If you have any questions, please call us on 07 5667 5972.
Apply now
Other permits for park activities
Permits are available for a range of commercial activities in parks. Some options are:
For other permits and licences not specific to parks, please visit our Permits & licensing webpage.
Community and major events
Your commercial activity is considered an event if it:
- is open to the public
- is a once-off activity/event
- requires extra infrastructure (for example, portable toilets, bins, marquees, jumping castle, food vendors)
- may cause nuisance (for example, noise, traffic congestion, road closures).
For commercial events please submit a Deliver an event on public land form.