Second dwellings
on the Whitsunday coast.
On this coast a "granny flat" is as often a holiday let as a family flat — and the council may assess those two things quite differently.
The short answer
In the Whitsundays the first question is not size but use. A secondary dwelling occupied by family and one let to holiday guests can sit under different assessment pathways, and body corporate by-laws may apply as well. Check the current position on Whitsunday Regional Council’s planning page before you design. We supply kitchens to the Whitsundays delivered assembled; we do not install there.
Use decides the pathway
This is what makes the Whitsundays different from an inland council. A secondary dwelling for family and a unit let to tourists are not the same proposal in planning terms, and short-stay accommodation is a land use in its own right. Which pathway your project falls under affects what is assessed and how. Be precise about the intended use when you ask the council, because a vague answer to a vague question is how people end up with an approval that does not cover what they are actually doing. Whitsunday Regional Council’s planning page has the current scheme;.
Body corporate can override the council
A large share of Airlie Beach and Cannonvale housing sits in community titles schemes, and the by-laws can restrict or prohibit short-stay letting regardless of what the council permits. This is the check people miss. If the property is in a scheme, read the by-laws before you plan anything around holiday income. Our guide to short-stay letting rules covers this in more depth.
What a secondary dwelling is, in planning terms
A self-contained dwelling on the same lot as a house and subordinate to it — the phrase to search the scheme for. Dual occupancy is separate. granny flat rules across Queensland covers the statewide framework; this page is about what is particular to the Whitsunday coast.
The categories to confirm
Whether a secondary dwelling is permitted at all on your lot. Maximum floor area. Setbacks. Whether it must stay attached. Parking, which matters more in a tourist area. Whether short-stay use is permitted and under what conditions. And hazard overlays, which on this coast means cyclone, storm tide and flood. None of these have a figure we will quote; all of them come from the council.
Tiny homes and the coast
The council has published its own guidance on tiny houses, which is worth reading if that is the form your second dwelling might take, because the answer depends on whether the home is a vehicle or a building. See our guide to tiny home laws in Queensland for the statewide picture, then the council’s own material for the local position.
What the kitchen has to be
A dwelling needs a real kitchen; a holiday let needs one that photographs well and survives guests who have no reason to be careful, in salt air. We supply both to the Whitsundays delivered assembled, from $6,500 for a 2.4 metre run — see kitchen supply to the Whitsundays and short-stay kitchens. We do not install there and we say so plainly.
Last checked: September 2026. General orientation, not planning or building advice. Council requirements change and every property is assessed on its own facts — confirm the current position with the council on the number above, or a building certifier, before you spend anything.
What the kitchen costs
From a kitchenette
to fully bespoke.
Supplied and installed in Central Queensland; shipped flat pack or assembled anywhere in Australia. Every figure is a real range, not a from-price with the catches left out.
From $4,500
Kitchenette
For a studio, an under-house room or a short-stay unit. Sink, bench and cold storage; cooktop and microwave where they fit. Same carcasses and hardware as a full kitchen.
See what's included →
$15,000 – $23,000
Essence
Handleless, quiet, exact. Soft-matte doors on Blum soft-close runners with a stone benchtop. Our entry to bespoke, drawn to your room rather than picked from a catalogue.
See what's included →
$26,000 – $42,000
Maison
What most Rockhampton families build. Timber veneer against a full-height stone splashback, a waterfall island, integrated lighting and a butler’s pantry behind a hidden door.
See what's included →
$47,000 +
Atelier
No constraints. Book-matched slabs, curved and fluted cabinetry, solid brass, wine walls and a pantry built like a jewellery box. One project at a time.
See what's included →Frequently asked
Common questions
If your question is not here, call the studio. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Ask us directly →Can I build a granny flat in Airlie Beach?
It depends on your lot, on Whitsunday Regional Council’s current scheme, and on how you intend to use it. Family accommodation and short-stay letting can fall under different pathways. Check with the council and be precise about the intended use.
Can I Airbnb a secondary dwelling in the Whitsundays?
Short-stay accommodation is a land use in its own right and is assessed as such. Body corporate by-laws may also prohibit it regardless of the council position. Confirm both before you plan around holiday income.
Do you install kitchens in Airlie Beach or Bowen?
No. We supply the Whitsundays delivered assembled, with service drawings for your own installer. Our installers work within about 150 kilometres of Rockhampton.
What kitchen suits a Whitsundays holiday let?
One that photographs wide and uncluttered, uses moisture-resistant carcasses and laser-bonded edging for the salt air, and has full-extension runners that survive unfamiliar users. From about $6,500 for a 2.4 metre run, supplied.
Delivered assembled
The assembly is done
before it arrives.
Carcasses built square on a bench, Blum hardware fitted, doors hung and adjusted to even gaps. On site you are fixing finished cabinets to a wall, not building them on the floor. Our own team fits it in Central Queensland; your installer fits it anywhere else in Australia. Prefer to build it yourself? The same kitchen ships flat pack.
Rangehood set into assembled overheads
Oak run, doors hung and adjusted before delivery
New build, kitchen fitted at fit-off
Whitsundays
Settle the use first.
Then the kitchen follows.
Family flat or holiday let changes the approval and the kitchen brief. Once the council has answered, send the dimensions and we will quote the supply, fixed and itemised.