Home-based businesses

Regardless of which category applies, all home-based businesses must:

• Be run by a resident of the property
• Not change the residential appearance of the property
• Not cause unreasonable noise, odour, traffic or other nuisance to neighbours
• Not involve outdoor storage of business materials or equipment
• Not involve the retail sale of goods from the property (online sales are generally fine)

Home occupations may also involve:

• Up to one non-resident employee working on site
• A limited number of clients visiting by appointment
• Use of up to one-third of the floor area of the home

Home businesses may involve:

• Up to two non-resident employees on site
• Regular client visits
• Use of up to one-third of the floor area plus a garage or outbuilding

Prohibited activities

Some business types are not permitted to operate from a residential property regardless of scale. These include:

• Panel beating, spray painting or mechanical repairs (other than for household vehicles)
• Welding or metal fabrication
• Commercial vehicle storage or dispatch
• Activities involving hazardous materials
• Any activity that would generate commercial levels of traffic, noise or waste

If you are unsure whether your business is permitted, contact a planning officer before you invest time or money in setting up.

Your business must not require more parking than a standard residential property, or result in increased traffic volumes in your neighbourhood that the local road network cannot accommodate. Client and employee vehicles must be able to park on-site or without inconveniencing neighbours.

Commercial vehicles over 4.5 tonnes (including trucks, vans, buses and earthmoving equipment) are not permitted in connection with a home occupation or home business. If you need to park a commercial vehicle at your home, this is a separate category requiring its own planning approval — contact a planning officer.

• Home office: No signage permitted.
• Home occupation: A sign of no more than 0.2m² is permitted.
• Home business: Signage is assessed in accordance with the City's Local Planning Policy No 2 — Signage.

Some home-based businesses require a health approval in addition to any planning approval. These include:

• Food preparation (jams, sauces, cakes without cream, and similar products)
• Bed and breakfast accommodation
• Family day care (food prepared for up to six children)
• Beauty therapy and tattooing

Food prepared in a residential kitchen: If you're using your home kitchen you may need home business approval. Most residential kitchens do not meet standards set by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, so you're generally limited to preparing low-risk foods such as cakes (without potentially-hazardous toppings), biscuits, and jams.