Temporary use for up to one year
You can keep it for up to one year from the day you placed it on your block if:
- you're using it for a temporary use
- you follow the placement rules.
If you need it for more than a year, you must get permission from the Territory Planning Authority.
Uses
Temporary uses may include:
- loading or unloading furniture
- transporting equipment or goods to or from your block
- storing construction tools or materials used to develop or renovate on your block.
The container must be structurally sound.
You cannot live in it.
Placement on your block
You must not put it:
- within 1.5m of your block’s side or rear boundary (called the boundary clearance area)
- where it gets in the way of accessing the block, another block or a public place
- on public unleased land such as footpaths and verges
- where it creates a safety risk to another person or property.
For temporary use, you can place it behind or in front of your building line.
Permanent or long-term placement
The placement rules are different for permanent or long-term use.
You can use a shipping container as a:
- garage, shed or storeroom if you follow the rules for a roofed class 10a building that is enclosed or open on 1 side.
- home if you follow the rules for a single dwelling.
Check if your planned use needs approval.
Complain about a shipping container
If you think there are shipping containers that break the rules, you can tell Access Canberra.
