The Gold Coast is Australia’s most concentrated run of beach, high-rise and rainforest. The point breaks and the Surfers skyline sit twenty minutes from the waterfalls and glow-worm gorges of the hinterland, and the light is bright and dependable for most of the year. It is a cinematographer’s shortcut to variety.
Whether you are producing a Gold Coast shoot, scouting coverage, or a Gold Coast cinematographer checking access before a recce, work through the location guide below, then read the permit notes. I travel to the Gold Coast and southern Queensland for shoots and can plan the coast and the hinterland in one schedule.
The complete Gold Coast filming location guide
Here is the full guide. Tap Map to open the spot in Google Maps, or Footage to see example videos. Locations marked with a ★ are the standout, camera-ready vantage points.
| Location | Best time | Filming tips | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
 ★ Surfers Paradise | Sunrise | The signature wall of towers behind the beach; sunrise over the ocean puts warm light on the high-rise. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 ★ Burleigh Heads | Sunrise | The headland, the point break and the national-park pandanus; surfers in the lineup with the skyline north. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Q1 SkyPoint | Dusk | The observation deck for an aerial-style city-and-coast panorama without a helicopter. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Currumbin & Tallebudgera Creek | Morning | Clear creek water meeting the sea, with the rock bar and estuary; morning light for the turquoise. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 ★ Springbrook National Park | Overcast / night | Purling Brook Falls and the Natural Bridge glow-worm cave; the glow-worms need a low-light setup and park approval. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 ★ Snapper Rocks & Point Danger | Dawn | The Superbank, one of the best right-handers in the world, with the NSW border headland. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Tamborine Mountain | Overcast morning | Rainforest walks, waterfalls and a cooler, elevated green; still mornings hold the mist in the gullies. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 The Broadwater & Southport | Morning | Calm water, the Spit and the marine precinct for boats and a gentler waterfront look east. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Lamington National Park | Overcast | Ancient Gondwana rainforest for the deep-green wilderness image away from the coast; park approval applies. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Currumbin Rock Pools | Morning | Hinterland swimming holes twenty minutes inland. Clear water over granite with rainforest closing in overhead. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 ★ Main Beach & The Spit | Sunrise | The Seaway walls and open dunes at the northern end, with the Surfers skyline south down the sand. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Coolangatta & Kirra | Sunrise | Retro beach-town frontage and the Kirra point break, with the NSW border headland behind. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Nobby Beach & Miami | Sunrise | A lower-rise, lived-in stretch of coast. Good for lifestyle work without the tower wall behind it. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 HOTA, Home of the Arts | Daytime | The faceted gallery building and the green bridge over the Nerang River. Bold geometry and colour close to Surfers. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Hinze Dam & Advancetown Lake | First light | Still water under the escarpment with mist on the surface early. A quiet counterpoint to the coast. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 ★ South Stradbroke Island | Sunrise | Undeveloped dunes and empty beach reachable only by boat. The closest thing to a wild coast on the Gold Coast. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Coombabah Lakelands | Morning | Mangroves, melaleuca and a resident kangaroo population. Boardwalks make it practical for a small crew. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Broadbeach & Kurrawa | Sunrise | Wide sand with a cleaner high-rise line than Surfers, and parkland for a unit base behind the dunes. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
 Numinbah Valley | Golden hour | Farmland running up to the Springbrook escarpment, cattle country in front and rainforest above. | 📍 Map▶ Footage |
Planning your Gold Coast shoot
A Gold Coast schedule usually runs on two systems. The City of Gold Coast covers the beaches, parks and streets it manages, which is most of the coastal work. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service covers the hinterland parks, so Springbrook, Lamington and Tamborine sit under a separate approval with its own lead time.
City of Gold Coast film production licence
Commercial filming or photography on council-managed land needs a film production licence. That net is wide: feature films, short films, television, documentaries, commercials, corporate video, student films, still photography and social media content shot for commercial purposes all fall inside it. Wedding photography is the exception and can go ahead in the parks, gardens and beaches without a licence, unless you need a reserved space.
Lodge at least 7 business days ahead. Anything more complex, such as a set build or a road closure, needs longer. You supply a certificate of currency for public liability of at least AU$10 million, which is a lower threshold than Brisbane or the national parks, so check your policy covers the higher figure if the job crosses into QPWS land. It is worth requesting a weather hold date as part of the application, which is a sensible habit on this coast. Apply through the City of Gold Coast.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
The hinterland parks are state land. Everyone filming in a QPWS area must lodge an online notification at least 14 days ahead regardless of whether a permit is needed, and a Commercial Activity Permit is required once you have 11 or more people or you bring prescribed structures. Structures include towers, platforms, generators, vehicles, shelters and drones, so any aerial work over Springbrook or Lamington triggers the permit even with a small crew. Public liability of $20 million is the standard requirement.
Permit fees from 1 July 2026:
| Situation | Application | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| 11 or more people, no prescribed structures | $434.60 | $217.90 |
| With structures, 1 to 5 people | $217.90 | $217.90 |
| With structures, 6 to 25 people | $1,077.00 | $1,077.00 |
| With structures, 26 to 50 people | $2,171.00 | $2,171.00 |
| With structures, 51 or more people | $4,356.00 | $4,356.00 |
A free pre-lodgement meeting is available and worth taking for the glow-worm caves at Natural Bridge or anything at night. Check park alerts before you commit to a date. Apply through Business Queensland.
Screen Queensland
Screen Queensland is the state agency, with location advice and production support for larger jobs and a useful first call when a shoot spans the coast and the hinterland.
Fees and lead times change each year. Confirm current amounts with each authority before you lock a schedule. All figures above checked against the authorities’ own published schedules on 28 July 2026.
Common questions about filming on the Gold Coast
Do you need a permit to film on the Gold Coast?
For most paid work, yes. The City of Gold Coast requires a film production licence for feature films, short films, television, documentaries, commercials, corporate videos, student films, still photography and social media content used for commercial purposes. Wedding photography is the exception and is allowed in parks, gardens and on beaches without a licence unless you need a reserved space. National parks, conservation parks, recreation areas and state forests are a separate tenure and fall to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service instead.
How much does a filming permit cost on the Gold Coast?
The City of Gold Coast does not publish licence fee amounts on its film production licence page, so ask the council for a quote rather than working from a table. On Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service land the fees are published and, from 1 July 2026, a commercial activity permit for 11 or more people with no prescribed structures costs $434.60 to apply and $217.90 per day. Where prescribed structures are used, the same amount applies to the application, the renewal and each day: $217.90 for one to five people, $1,077 for six to 25, $2,171 for 26 to 50 and $4,356 for 51 or more. Confirm current figures before you budget.
How long does it take to get a filming permit on the Gold Coast?
Allow a minimum of seven business days for a City of Gold Coast film production licence, and longer if the shoot involves set builds or road closures. A weather hold date can be requested as part of the application, which is worth doing on anything coastal. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service works to a different clock: an online filming and photography notification has to be lodged at least 14 days before you enter a parks area, whether or not a permit is also required.
Can you fly a drone for filming on the Gold Coast?
In a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service area a drone counts as a prescribed structure, so any drone work triggers a commercial activity permit no matter how small the crew. Insurance is the trap worth knowing about: the City of Gold Coast asks for public liability of at least AU$10 million, while the parks service works to the government standard of $20 million. If a job crosses both tenures, check your certificate of currency covers the higher figure. Commercial flights also need a CASA remote pilot licence and an operator certificate.
Filming guides for other Australian cities
Planning a shoot elsewhere in Australia? See the filming location and permit guides for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart.